Bankruptcy married to a sole trader

In_a_mess

Can someone please help with this one?
I am in a whole heap of debt (all in my name except 5K in my husbands). My husband is a sole trader (tradesmen).
If only I went bankrupt how would this work:-

We have a house which is in negative equity (mortgage about £600 a month) - are we likely to keep this as the way I see it if a sale is forced then no one would really get any money except the mortgage company (Northern Rock).

I have a car worth about 3K but still have 2 years to pay for it (£72 per month) - would this be taken away, but I do need a car for work so how would that work?

Lastly, what about my husband, if it was me made bankrupt could he keep trading, he is sole trader (not ltd). He has a van with lettering etc on it, worth about £8k - will this be taken away or would he be allowed to keep it - without it he can't trade.

Still early stages in getting advise but any help on this would be appreciated.

sieve

Your bankruptcy won't affect your husband in any way save for the fact that if you have any joint debts he would become solely liable for them when you went BR. So he would be able to keep trading as normal.

If the house is in negative equity you won't have a sale forced as it wouldn't be in anyone's interest to do so. So if you can keep up the payments once all your debt is gone, you should be fine.

I say 'should' as with BR nothing is 100% certain but based on everyone's experiences here, that's what I think the most likely thing to happen in your situation will be.

thatsyourlot

Hiya.

I am a self employed sole trader about to petition for my own bankruptcy & as far as I am aware, your husband should be able to keep his business going, along with his tools of trade (dont quote me on this tho)

I have a huge mountain of personel debt, which until a few weeks ago, my husband knew nothing about (well not the whole story)

We have no joint financial ties what so ever & rent our house from the council, so I am lucky in that respect that I do not have the house problem to worry about.

Im sorry that I cant be of anymore help to you but please do keep on posting on this board, I have found everybody really elpful with the questions I have asked so far.

xx

bubbles_bonbon

Hi.
I am a sole trader, and went BR last year.
My house was in negative equity partly due to the current financial climate and due to the fact that we were flooded out three years ago in the storms which makes the property a flood risk, and un sellable. You will need to get several estimates from local estate agents to prove you're case, so start buttering them up now.

The OR allowed us to stay in our home but she can revue this in three years time and change her decision if the property has gained a substantial amount of equity. So fingers crossed the housing market doesn't pick up too much!!!

I was allowed to keep my tools as they are needed for my trade, as is the van.

Hope this helps.