HELP!!! Im new to this and need some reassurance/advice re bankruptcy.

mummytotwo_3

Myself and my husband have finally decided to go bankrupt after grappling with situations over the last couple of months, i know it is the right thing to do because we have a happy marriage execpt for the constant bickering over money or should i say lack of it. We have two children a son 21mths and a daughter 9mths and i have been diagnosed with post natal depression in july of this year.
At present we are saving for the fees for the two of us, but im wandering whether i should start the ball rolling now for me as i dont have any idea how long it takes but would have enough for my fees end of next week and let husband follow once he has enough for his fees. We have decided to let cab fill out the forms for us so i can have appointment with them anytime.
The trouble is im finding it hard to deal with the creditor letters coming through the door all the time even though im paying them what i can reasonably afford in our situtation at present, and feel this is affecting my relationship both with my husband and my children and i know its not fair on them.
My husband has been out of work for a year, and because of our serious financial situation iv had to find work elsewhere which is not as well paid as my previous job.
Also as well, seen as i wont be able to work in the financial services industry which is where i have worked for the past 12yrs or so, i was looking at retraining as a social worker but dont know whether i could in the future after the bankruptcy is over as it would take me 4yrs to retrain all in all with the degree needed.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Many thanks.

sizzler

Hi there.

Try not to panic, i know its hard. You are amongst some good people here who know what the experience is like.

Once you have filled in the forms. Double check them and list all your debts carefully aswell as your statement. If your using cab, they will reallt help you.

Its actually really hard thinking straight in these situations. There are so many things go through your mind.

At court all been well it can take about an hour, depending on your situation. When i did it i went down to the court on the morning and was back home having a coffee by lunch time, thinking ive done the first move. Strange feeling.

You will be asked for an interview with the official receiver, either by telephone or in person. They will go through your forms with you and ask related questions. Try to get all your information and statements ready to help you. The interview i had was not as bad i had expected.

When your creditors contact you afterwards you tell them you are br and give them details, if they really hastle you tell the officiall reciever.

Then you are on the road to your new life.

Its not easy but it gets a bit better each day and releaves the worry a bit at a time. Main problem is to keep going step by step.

Good luck and regards

mummytotwo_3

Thanks for the reassurance sizzler.
Cant help but panic at the minute!!!

confused76

hiya welcome to the board
have you got an appointment booked with the CAB? i would get that set up as they are very busy at the moment and there may be a wait - you can both save the money while you get the forms sorted.

also, check with your local court what system they operate. some are drop in on the day, others you make an appointment and go in with your forms and money on the agreed date. my local court was an appointment system, the app i got was a month away but it varies court to court so it's worth getting a date booked in.

if you are sure that br is the route for you (and you have taken advice from one of the debt charities) then i would stop paying the non-essentials (credit cards, loans etc) to save for your br fees. they will be included in your br anyway so if you can save the fee quicker by doing this then do so. i don't know if this will help you save hubbies fees quicker? do you own your own home?

i'm sorry i don't know if this affects your chances of becoming a social worker, you would need to investigate this.

it is an incredibly stressful time, especially if you are dealing with postnatal depression. keep posting on here and we will try and support you where we can
all the best

newdawn_2

Hi ya mummytotwo. Just wanted to say that you may find it financially easier to retrain as a social worker easier than you think as their is alot of help available.

Going BR was the best thing I could have done in my circumstances. Have you looked at if you can get any help towards the fees? See the stickys at the top of this thread. If you have to stop paying creditors to get the fees then this will all be over sooner.

good luck

mummytotwo_3

Hiya confused 76, thankyou for that. We have both taken advice from Cab and they offered me an appointment there then and said we would need the cash on the day also - but then we didnt have the cash needed so couldnt take up the offer of an appoinment.

Br is definately our only real option in the circumstances, i have tried every other route - debt management, dont qualify for an iva as not enough income, so br is the next option. Iv got the number of our local court so i will call them on monday after iv finished work and double check though.

We do own our home but are well aware we are going to lose it especially as we are in arrears on our mortgage and struggling to pay it anyway. The house is in negative equity as well. Iv got all the froms for putting our name on the local council and housing association lists which im filling in this week.

Im also filling in the forms for the co-op cashminder account and going down on tuesday to sort that out as im not sure if natwest will let us keep our account,even though we dont owe them or the associated groups any money.

I will stop paying our creditors, as it will help hubby get his fees quicker.
Thanks again.

confused76

hiya

i opened a coop cashminder a couple of weeks before br, and have my direct debits come out of there now. i can't see natwest letting you keep their account but you never know!

sounds like you're organised! good luck with saving for your fees

Tinytim

Hi mummytotwo and welcome

As confused has said, you seem to have things sorted thus far but don't may another penny to unsecured creditors, there is no point. CAB will give you a lot of help, but please come on here and let us look at your income and expenditure before you submit it. The only critisism I have heard of CAB is that some advisors are too keen to limit your expenditure rather than allow a sustainable standard of living to be maintained - which the BR rules do allow for

mummytotwo_3

Thanks tinytime, i will post this later, i think the only lavish items we have is the mobile contracts from vodafone and we called them only a few days ago to try and reduce my hubbys bill but they wont!!!

mummytotwo_3

Hiya, tinytim asked for a breakdown of our income and expenditure - so here it is.

Income: my salary £251.33 p/m, IJSA £245.22 p/m, child benefit £143.86 p/m and child tax credit £439.40 p/m total £1079.81 p/m.

Expenditure:
Mortgage £79.64 - receive mortgage interest relief with IJSA.
Council tax £0.00 in receipt of council tax benefit with IJSA.
Gas & Electric £60.00
Water £41.70
Virgin tv, interent and phone £25.00
vodafone x 2 £60.00 - this we have tried battering down with vodafone but they wont let hubby reduce plan.
Tv Licence £12.12
Home insurance £10.65
Food Shopping £370.00
Clothes £90 - two small children 21mths and 9mths and growing fast!!
Petrol £130.00
Road Tax £17.00
Car ins £18.54
Mot and Serv £15.00
pets x 2 £5.00 we have them treated under pdsa so only have to make a small donation.
hair £20.00
Birthdays/christmas £25.00
Emergency fund £25.00
Total Surplus £76.39 p/m

Any thoughts greatly received.

confused76

hiya do you pay for prescriptions or dentist or opticians? if so you need to include these