2Qs regarding redundantcy and bankruptcy

lucy245

Hi Im new to all of this so bear with me!

Im a single mum to two young children. Over the last 10yrs I have got myself into a lot of debt (about £20,000) and despite my best efforts (through payplan and speaking to my creditors), I have been unable to deal with them. I now get letters and calls regularly threatening legal action which worries me. I spoke to Payplan who told me that as I have no deficit income after paying all my bills that the best route would be to go bankrupt.

I have the following questions:

I currently work part time. I am due to be made redundant next year (June) and will get a redundantcy payment then - I am aware that if I go bankrupt that the official receiver will take all of my redundantcy money - which I really dont want to happen (as this money will need to keep me going until I can find another suitable job.

1)Is there any way I could go bankrupt now (ie in the next month or so) and hopefully be discharged before June next year and therefore keep the redundantcy payment? Or would the official receiver have to know in advance that Im aware of my redundantcy?

2) I currently have two bank accounts - one with Santander that is overdrawn (which I will be putting on my statement of affairs) and a basic co-op account which I opened to use whilst bankrupt for all my bills to come out from etc. Would the official receiver need to see all my Santander Bank statements to see my incomings and outgoings or would he/she just use what I put on the statement of affairs? (I have nothing to hide just wondered what evidence they need to see)

Thanks for any advice...this forum has been so useful already

Lucy

debtinfo

1) is it deffinate that you are being made redundant and how much would you be getting

lucy245

yes sadly - am due to get £12,000 roughly june 2011

emmdee57

Hi Lucy. From my BR (bankruptcy) experience if you go BR, considering all is well, you should be discharged exactly 12 months later. Therefore if you are to, you need to do it within the next month (some County Courts (CC) might not give you a hearing for a few months. My CC have BR hearings every two months).

Regarding your two Bank Accounts, the one where you owe money should be listed as one of your debtors. You will need to explain to the Official Receiver (OR) that it is a basic account for bill payments only. They should then take this into account etc. If you won a car which is not under an HP agreement you will lose it, unless you can prove you need it for work.

Personally I wouldn't mention the threat of redundancy as you may lose any money you get. After all, you may be found a different job within the organisation and may not get it anyway. Once made redundant you would not pay any income tax for the period of redundancy.

Hope this helps . This is based upon my experience of BR.

lucy245

Thank you very much for your reply emmdee57 - very helpful.

Do you know the answer to my 2nd question ie what documents does the official receiver check? does the OR check all my bank statements and utility bills etc to check what I am paying out/ money coming in or do they just literally use the information given on the statement of affairs?

I really really appreciate everyones help

dojoman

lucy245 wrote: »

Thank you very much for your reply emmdee57 - very helpful.

Do you know the answer to my 2nd question ie what documents does the official receiver check? does the OR check all my bank statements and utility bills etc to check what I am paying out/ money coming in or do they just literally use the information given on the statement of affairs?

I really really appreciate everyones help

They generally ask for 12 months statements, but if you cannot supply the 12, they will be able to get any they need directly from your bank/ccc.

emmdee57

They will want to see your bank statements for both accounts. You will lose the Santander account but stress to them the need to keep the Co-Op account for bill payments etc. The Co-Op are one of the 'friendlier' banks for BR.

In my previous message I meant to say that, post BR, you will not pay any income tax for at least the next 12 months on wages, not redundancy. Sorry about the confusion.

Finally, as I said, if you do own a car which is not on Hire Purchase, argue that you need it for work/to look for work. With the way things are at the moment I have no doubt you may have to look outside of your immediate area to attend interviews/work. The OR do not want to see you destitute. The last thing they or the Government want is for your BR to push you into claiming benefits.

Hope this helps and good luck