Joint IVA - Now Husband has left me

j-bean60

Hi,
My husband and I have been in a joint IVA since June 2006 and although we've still got 16 months or so to pay, I could see light at the end of the tunnel and was counting down the months till we could finally get on with our lives. We have been paying almost £600 a month.
Then, out of the blue, he packed his bags on Saturday and walked out.
I am really worried about the financial situation he’s left me in but I’m especially worried about what's going to happen with the IVA. Both our wages get paid into the bank this Friday and the DD for the IVA is paid on the 2nd of each month. He has said he will continue to pay his wages into the joint bank account so that the IVA and other bills can be paid. But I can't help worrying - what if he doesn't do this?
I've thought about contacting my IP but then thought I would leave it to see if his wages do go into the joint account. I'm at my wits end. I know it will have to be sorted one way or other anyway eventually but would be grateful for any advice. Will the IP split the payment so that I will be responsible for only part of it? Or will I have to continue paying the full amount. I don't want the IVA to fail, we've struggled for 4 years now and I really can't believe this is happening.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks

Charco_2

Don't panic just yet - not about the finances anyway!

Sit tight and see if he keeps his word and continues to pay the Joint IVA - presumably he has as much to lose with a failed IVA as you have so it makes sense to ride it out for the remaining year!

If he DOESN'T stick to the plan then it wont be a huge catastrophe either. Your IVA won't fail over one missed payment... your IP only has a duty to act if you fall THREE payments behind. (And his action doesn't necessarily have to be to fail you!)

j-bean60

Thank you Charco.
We missed one payment last year (with their permission) as my sister had been seriously ill and was being discharged from hospital. I needed to go away for a week to look after her so they agreed I could miss that payment and add it to the end of the 60 months. As I had their permission to do this, would I be right in assuming this will not be counted?
I just hope he does keep his word and I will sit tight as you say.
Now I know there’s no desperate urgency to involve the IP, I do feel a bit more positive about it - I'll be back later in the week once I know about the wages situation.
Thanks for your advice.

Charco_2

It's probably ok about the payment you've already missed... the thing about the three payments is that that is when the IP should take action to make sure the IVA is not going delinquent. Provided you are still showing willing to complete the IVA at the agreed terms then the IP will be there trying to help.

Charco_2

Hmmmm, I've thought about this a little bit more and there's a little bit of comfort but as you extrapolate the logic of how to deal with this situation it gets bigger and bigger! (The more you think about it, the more angles you see!)

First thing is, if your husband decides to reneg on his agreement with you then it doesn't matter much. There is technically no such thing as a Joint IVA - you each have you own IVA but they are currently "Interlocking and Mutually Reliant" (basically they depend on eachother). So separating them isn't a huge problem!

Next... Is your husband leaving going to be a permanent thing? He needs to inform his IP of his change of address and change in circumstances. The IP will need to do a new I&E for both of you. What are the new arrangements going to be between you? Kids? Maintenance? Where is your husband going to live? Rent? New Costs? It goes on and on!

When the dust settles, you'll HAVE to inform the IP. It may be that the change in circumstances has left you in a position not to pay your bills and afford your monthly IVA contributions! Your IP could propose a Full and Final based on the payments you've made to date! Or your husband might agree to sign the house over to you in which case how much equity will there be? Will you have to remortgage or extend the IVA by a year?

It might be that nothing much will change but your IP will be able discuss it all with you!

j-bean60

Charco wrote: »

Hmmmm, I've thought about this a little bit more and there's a little bit of comfort but as you extrapolate the logic of how to deal with this situation it gets bigger and bigger! (The more you think about it, the more angles you see!)

I know - every time I think about it I come up with something different to worry about.

First thing is, if your husband decides to reneg on his agreement with you then it doesn't matter much. There is technically no such thing as a Joint IVA - you each have you own IVA but they are currently "Interlocking and Mutually Reliant" (basically they depend on eachother). So separating them isn't a huge problem!

This is why I asked the question about whether the IP would split the payment so I would only be responsible for part of it. But, I don't think I could go through all that again and start from scratch. If it came to this, how would they calculate the amounts each of us have to pay? (Sorry - you've answered this later by saying they would need a new I&E from each of us).

Next... Is your husband leaving going to be a permanent thing? He needs to inform his IP of his change of address and change in circumstances. The IP will need to do a new I&E for both of you. What are the new arrangements going to be between you? Kids? Maintenance? Where is your husband going to live? Rent? New Costs? It goes on and on!

Given his attitude at the moment, I am assuming the split will be permanent. I've told him that we need to contact the IP and give them his new address but he just said to give them his workplace as a contact address!
We have one child who is 16 so I guess maintenance won't apply. I don't know where he's going to live so have no idea of rent etc. (I don't even know where he staying is at the minute - he won't tell me - I've only contacted him once on the phone at work.)
If I think about this logically, I will have half the income but still the same outgoings! So perhaps in the long run he will be doing me a favour. (Or am I being completely stupid here?)

When the dust settles, you'll HAVE to inform the IP. It may be that the change in circumstances has left you in a position not to pay your bills and afford your monthly IVA contributions! Your IP could propose a Full and Final based on the payments you've made to date! Or your husband might agree to sign the house over to you in which case how much equity will there be? Will you have to remortgage or extend the IVA by a year?

Yes, I will contact the IP (probably next week when I know about the wages situation - if he does keep to his word and have his wages paid into the joint account this week then at least March's payment will be sorted and I will have time to contact the IP during March to sort everything before the next payment is due).
I don't have any savings etc to afford a full and final settlement.
The house is rented from a housing association so equity/remortgage don't apply.

It might be that nothing much will change but your IP will be able discuss it all with you!

Thank you Charco

Charco_2

I didn't mean you'd have to come up with extra money for a Full and Final... if your story is sympathetic enough your creditors could quite likely accept that you've now paid all you can and it's fair enough to just settle the case for the amounts you've paid in so far (it really can happen)... obviously it depends on your ability to afford repayments!

It's certainly possible to split the payments, but that doesn't mean you now pay £300 and he pays £300... it would need to split on what is actually affordable.

Probably sensible enough to wait until you see if the next payment goes through then inform the IP and see what he says... then come back on here and discuss the recommendations (or if you've other questions or concerns post away).

So long as you are up front and honest with your IP you can practically overcome any problem that arises!

j-bean60

Well, he did keep his promise and his wages have been paid into the bank, but only because it was too late to open a new account and pay them in there. He says he will have a new account for his wages next month.
He has threatened to go and withdraw some money from the bank today but it's a basic bank account and the bank has told me that he shouldn't be able to withdraw cash over the counter, but at the end of the day it depends on the branch. He doesn't have his cash card.
Charco - I know you've said I should be upfront and honest with the IP, but would it really make any difference if I stopped next week's IVA payment anyway? If he does withdraw a load of money then I will be in real trouble trying to pay the bills.
I've done a quick I&E (based on last year's review figures) and my outgoings normally will definitely be more than my income.
Where do I go from here?

Charco_2

All the more reason to speak to the IP - you're not going to able to continue as things stand so you'll need to discuss your options with your IP. Find out what (s)he suggests and the come back on here to discuss it.

What does your husband intend to do about his IVA? If it fails presumably he'll be facing up to all his debts again too!?

j-bean60

Hi Charco
Well, he's done it - he's been into the branch and withdrawn £600 cash.
I've cancelled next week's payment and I've e-mailed my IP to explain. I'm waiting for someone to ring me to discuss my options and I'll come back when I've heard something.
I really don't know what he intends to do about his IVA - I've tried to explain what will happen but he doesn't seem to care - so why should I? As long as I can sort mine then that's all I'm worried about.
Thanks

Charco_2

You should be able to sort yours out... they're not actually joint, they were just "interlocking and mutually reliant" - you now need to go your separate ways! Don't let him drag your IVA down too, you're on the final straight!

Find out what your IP says and come back on here to discuss.

EDIT:
You should probably ask your IP for a payment holiday, just two or three months. At the minute, there is absolutely no point in paying in any more money because you know you are not in a position to complete the next 16 months as things are now (so you dont want to pay any more money into an arrangement that will certainly fail).

Your next step is to work out if there is any way you can make the arrangement work (if it was me I'd probably want some way for my IVA to complete successfully but my husband's to fail - if he wants it to end successfully then he should deal with it himself but unfortunately it won't work like this as the dividends have been linked so far).

I think you said your house is rented so you've nothing to fear about a fourth year valuation or that there might be anything of value for your creditors to continue to pursue you for...
Your best option then is to ask if the creditors will accept that whatever you have already paid in to the proposal would simply be accepted as full and final in your IVA.

Your IP will discuss this (and if he doesn't, then you should mention it).