Husband declaring bankruptcy

Taja

Thanks all

Our case is slightly different as my husband also works from home. If we had to move to rented accommodation we would also lose his income as he would be unable to work from home as the majority of rental properties would not allow it (he has about 100 clients at present). If we move into a smaller house we will then have to pay for office accommodation, and the cost of a rented house plus renting office space and staff to man it when he is out, would work out at more than our current mortgage

The whole situation is dire and I'm worried sick. The horses are mine and have been owned by me for longer than I have known my husband. If I lose them, I honestly think it would be the end for us anyway as I couldn't cope. They are part of my family (some people may find that odd but hey ho).

I'd better get my number plate taken off the car then, just incase.

Income wise I only work part time so not in a position to pay for the whole mortgage on my own and I have a loan of my own etc that I pay off.

I wish there were other ways around this. We got landed in it due to a previous business partner who declared himself bankrupt and has left my husband with an obscene amount of debt, leaving us no choice but to do the same. We could have paid half of the debt as per the original agreement but cannot take on the whole amount and survive.

kepar

Without an SOA it is hard to suggest anything.
You say you work part-time, so do you contribute your share to the running of the house. or do you a large amount of it to keep your horses. Also do you have enough to run your car.
The OR will expect you to pay a proportionate amount to the allowances.
It seems to me unfortunately that your husband has had a bad time of it lately( like most posters/readers on here) and you want him to go br, but at the same time expect to maintain your current life style. I have a feeling that the OR might take a different view of it, but you never know you might be lucky.
You have to realise that a lot of us on here have lost houses,cars and other material things. But for some break ups have occurred and the loss of the family must be the worst feeling.
The material things go and in time we get over it. But judging by your posts you want it to stay the same.

Your husband will have 0000's written off, so you have to expect some loss in your lifestyle. IF you cannot except this the maybe br is not for your husband.

Taja

I don't give a stuff about the house really. We did try selling it this year but due to the current market we had no luck. I do give a stuff about the horses. One of them I watched being born and was a gift to me from my mother, who is no longer alive. He is my main link to her, so sorry if he counts as 'material' to some of you but as a living, breathing creature who relies on me he doesn't count as a 'material' item to me. The cars can go if necessary although my husband needs a vehicle to see his clients or he can't work, if he can't work we end up totally screwed.

I work part time and all of my money goes into the pot. I am also company director with 100% shares in the family business. My husband earns a salary from it, as I do I but it all just goes into the same pot. As I assume my percentage of earnings (I carry out all of the admin / secretarial requirements) is not considered within the bankruptcy then I do pay a fair whack. We just aren't your typical couple working 9-5 on a salary. With both of us being self employed we can't guarantee the same amount of earnings each month, it depends on how much work we have in. We turn over a reasonable amount a year with it all being in my name to try to keep my credit rating as clean as possible as we knew my husband was in deep poo.

I can't say I'm jumping up and down at the thought of this, especially as it's not of my doing. I love my husband to bits and will support him in whatever he chooses but not at the loss of my horses. They simply cannot be replaced like a bit of furniture or a car or a house and with the market for horses as it is, one of them would certainly end up in a sale ring and probably going for meat. I'd shoot them first, probably closely followed by myself.

silvercar

Can you work out if it would be cheaper to stable the horses elsewhere and rent a suitable property? If that were cheaper than your current mortgage and maintenance of the house, t may be worth letting it go.

I hear that your horses are important to you, the problem is that the OR follows rules and the rules may not allow for you to live in a large home just so you can have your horses with you. That is why it is important to look at all options.

FoggyBrain_2

Going back to your original post ... you say you have considered IVA, but they want you to pay £1300 per month, which you cannot afford. The basics if an IVA is that they take your income, from this they deduct living expenses etc, to allow you a reasonable lifestyle (tight but not as bad as overspending every month). What is left is the proposed payment to be divi'd out among creditors. The idea is that this payment is affordable.

If going BR is such a dire prospect, might I suggest you re-explore the IVA route and seek advice from several parties like CCCS, CAB and / or National Debtline, as per Tigerfeet's sig.

It's got to be worth a few phone calls .... BTW CCCS has an online calculator which helps put things together for you, even if you don't use them.

Best of luck with it all.

silvercar

The whole issue of affordability and the OR's view on husbands bankruptcy gets muddied if the husband works for a company that is 100% owned by the wife. It could look like (and I'm not saying this is the case here) the husbands income is being kept low to avoid any payments having to be made and the wifes income (PAYE or dividends) is being used to maintain an otherwise unattainable lifestyle.

I don't know what powers to OR has to examine a non-bankrupt partners income and decide on the bankrupts contribution to household expenditure in 9-5 employed situations, but this situation is not straight forward.

kepar

Also have you considered even if the OR let you stay, as you have a joint mortgage then it will all fall on you when your husband goes br. The mortgage company would then look to see if if you had sufficient income to pay for all of it. With the climate as it is , that might prove doubtful.

tigerfeet2006

Kepar, no they won't. The OR will allow an amount to pay the mortgage and as long as the mortgage is paid then they are happy. BR will not affect who is on the mortgage etc. it is a secured debt so not included in BR.

debtinfo

Have you always owned 100% of the business has it always been limited, goes your husband have an employment contract

the_bright_side

Were in a similar situation, with horses and self employed. Also was told to enter into a large IVA, which was unaffordable so BR was looking like the only route, however now seeing somebody new, who is very hopeful that we can enter into an IVA that is workable.

You also need to make sure that you husband if he does go BR isn’t involved with the management or running of a LTD. Company can be difficult to prove either side. PM me if you want to chat