Bankruptcy Qs

freddy911

Hi, im considering bankruptcy, me and my wife have struggeld with debts for years, every year getting more and more in debt as we juggle our finnance and its now led to the break up of our marriage due to the stress, Im now in a situation where my basic living expenses and debts come to £100 more than my saliery every month before I even start of fuel, food and cloths.

Upto now i have not missed any payments on any of my accounts as I dont want to screw up my credit file unless I decide there is no other option.

Can I file for bankruptcy without missing any payments? or must i have defaulted on my debts first?

Also what will happen to my saliery untill im discharged? does the OR take this off me and leave me with just my basic living costs?

What about my employer? will the OR inform my employer about me going bankrupt?

Thanks in advance Steve

HOLIDAYMAD_2

Hi Steve

If you have gathered the corrcect advise and fully understand the legal implication etc, county court judge will give you bankruptcy.

Your credit records will be !!!!ed at that point and for 6 year as and 1 day

you have to complete a statement of affairs ie secured debts, and unsecured debt against income and exp, unsecure are wiped but the OT will look at surplus income if there is any left , for high earners this can be a sticky point as they can take your surplus for three years

Please contact CCCS , CAB etc who will go through all your options and beleive me you have options before suggesting BR. Br can be good but its quite draconian so be prepared.

Im so sorry you marriage has failed , maybe moving forward and getting the CORRECT AND FREE advice can turn it around. hope that hleps

ps id leave off any personal details ie name in futrure.

mel12

Hi,
Bankrupcy is one option - there are a few other less drastic ones if you can't make the minimum repayments and have enough for your living expenses. For example a debt management plan, or an IVA might be an option.
I'd recommend calling one of the free debt charities to talk through your options.

Also what will happen to my saliery untill im discharged? does the OR take this off me and leave me with just my basic living costs?

If you have a surplus then the OR will take any amount over £20 for 3 years. This is called an income payment arrangement (IPA), and it can be varied up or down if your income changes. There are guidelines for how much you are allowed to spend on different things eg groceries, petrol etc - if you're doing quite extreme moneysaving at the moment to pay the minimum amounts you might find you can spend more than you do at the moment. If you want to post an SOA we can have a look and give an idea how the OR (official reciever who deals with bankrupcy) might consider the different amounts.

What about my employer? will the OR inform my employer about me going bankrupt?

No they won't. There are a few jobs that you can't do while bankrupt (generally things like company director etc) though.


Other things to be think about are
a) the impact on your credit rating - bankrupcy drops off your credit file after 6 years but you still have to answer 'yes' if asked 'have you ever been bankrupt', generally this might happen for things like mortgage applications and make them more difficult.

b) do you have any assets (house, car etc).
Depending on how expensive a car is and what you need it for, and depending how much equity is in your house if you own one you might lose it in bankrupcy.

freddy911

Hi thanks for the replys, they main reason I was considering bankruptcy is because a large portion of my debt is a secured loan for 22k on my house, there is no equity in the house after the first mortgage and I would imagine if the house was sold in a hurry it would fall short of the first mortgage. I have no quarms about losing the house, my biggest worry is losing my job, Im a registered health care professional, registered with the Health proffesions council and was worried this may be affected by bankruptcy also. My ex is also a nurse and she was worried it may affect her registration.

Anyone know if this is true?

One other concern is that I am currently living in a rented flat, rented through an agency, I read that if you go bankrupt the or writes to your landlord, can they terminate my lease for going bankrupt without missing any rent payments?


Thanks

Ineedaname

The best thing to do is both of you check your contracts and professional registrations for anything about BR in them. If there's nothing then it won't affect your jobs.

The same with your tenancy agreement, is there a BR clause in it? If not then you have nothing to worry about as BR will not be breaking any tenancy clause so your landlord has no reason to throw you out.

Although I had no BR clause in my tenancy agreement, I did approach my landlord about it because I didn't want him to hear it from the OR if they do decide to call him. He's fine about it, the issue was whether it would affect my ability to pay the rent and look after the house, which of course it wont.

Do follow Mel's advice and contact one of the debt charities. They are best placed to advise you regarding your specific circumstances.

Tupperware_Queen

I am a nurse, and it has had no effect on my profession. I had to give up being a school governor though

NeverAgain_2

srichar,

Some landlords can be a bit sniffy about signing up bankrupts, but you are already in a rented flat.

I don't think the OR will write to your landlord, unless you are behind with the rent and he is one of your creditors.

Are you happy to stay in the flat?

Best if you are, because you might have problems renting another one, at least until you are discharged.

I say might, because some landlords take the common sense view that a bankrupt is 'once bitten', so will be less likely to get into financial bother.

Sounds like you are in a steady job, which is very reassuring for a landlord.

freddy911

Tupperware_Queen wrote: »

I am a nurse, and it has had no effect on my profession. I had to give up being a school governor though

Hi thanks for your responce can i ask, did you employer find out from the OR or any other sorce that you had been made bankrupt?

Thanks

wookie999

hi
I am in a job where BR is not ideal to say the least but Honesty from the begining was the best policy, just told them why,break up etc..and they was actually very supportive, with regards to the Landlord my OR was insistant on informing the Landlord even though i supplied documents of agreement and proof of payment,was only in three months, so i asked the OR for two weeks grace so i could inform them myself, for which OR agreed so i told them myself, again once explained they was ok, it does say on BR site the OR "MAY" contact your Landlord, so i suppose its hit and miss.

miss_sunshine_68

My OR asked for a copy of my tenancy agreement but he said he won't be telling my landlord!

Good luck

Ineedaname

The tenancy agreement is now required by the Court, it's asked for on the paperwork you fill in. But the OR should tell you if they are intending to let your landlord know. I've spoken to my landlord and he's fine about it.

In most cases the OR won't have any need to contact your employer and again, they should tell you if they need to contact them. This could happen if you have a loan from your employer because that would have to be included in the BR and the OR would then need to contact your employer as one of your creditors.