Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

sourcrates

Frank38 wrote: »

Hi
Can I ask, when does the 6 year period end ? Is it from the date of the Bankruptcy Order or from the date of the Discharge ? Our Bankruptcy Order was on 14th May 2014 and the Discharge Date was on 27th May 2015 so does the 6 yrs end in 2020 or in 2021 ? Grateful for clarification. Thank you.

Already answered in your other post Frank.

Former_StepChange_Patience

Hi there

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear about the potential issues that this might cause, I understand how difficult it must be when as you explained, the relationship might already be struggling.

Relate: https://www.relate.org.uk/ are a charity who provide help and support and might be able to give you a little bit of guidance on the relationship side of things.

With the bankruptcy process, it’s likely the Official Receiver (OR) might want to check that the other contributing adult in the household is paying their fair share of the living expenditure so that may mean also asking for details of your husbands income.

We would always recommend co-operating with the OR as failure to do this, could result in bankruptcy restriction orders or undertakings (BRO/BRU). That means they could extend the restrictions of your bankruptcy for longer, you can find out further information here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/debt-solutions/bankruptcy-2/bankruptcy-restrictions-orders/

Before you go ahead with this, have you sought any impartial advice to help you deal with your debts? Bankruptcy is one of many different solutions and it might be worthwhile having an impartial third party having a look at things with you.

If you would like us to have a look at your circumstances, you can start a budget with us either online or over the phone and see what options we can suggest. There's no obligation to go ahead with anything we recommend and details of how you can contact us can be found here: www.stepchange.org/Contactus

I hope this helps.

Patience

KEHxxx wrote: »

Hi I am looking for some advice before I make myself bankrupt. Do I HAVE to legally disclose my husbands income if I am the only one going bankrupt or can I ask the OR to assume I pay 50% of the bills which I do? My husband doesn't want me to give details of his income which is much higher than mine as it will mean he would then have to pay a higher percent of the household bills when we have always split it 50/50 as I chose to work part time to be able to take children to and from school. Can the OR check his back accounts etc? This is going to cause some issues between us and we are already really just living together for the children but in the same house.

I am so worried about this whole process.

Former_StepChange_Patience

Hi Frank

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

The 6-year period (that the bankruptcy would show on your credit file) should end 6 years from the date of the Bankruptcy Order, not the discharge date.

Hopefully this means that it may no longer show on your credit file from May 2020 onwards, give or take 4 to 8 weeks to allow your credit file to update.

I hope this helps.

Patience

Frank38 wrote: »

Hi
Can I ask, when does the 6 year period end ? Is it from the date of the Bankruptcy Order or from the date of the Discharge ? Our Bankruptcy Order was on 14th May 2014 and the Discharge Date was on 27th May 2015 so does the 6 yrs end in 2020 or in 2021 ? Grateful for clarification. Thank you.

Frank38

Hello
Does the '6 year rule' start from the first day of the bankruptcy or the last day ?
We went bankrupt on 27th May 2014 and discharged on 27th May 2015.
So does the 6 years end on 27th May 2020 or 2021 ?
Thank you or your help.
Regards

Frank38

Sorry I was being confused by it as per usual.
Best Regards
Frank Mann

StepChange_Allen

Frank38 wrote: »

Hello
Does the '6 year rule' start from the first day of the bankruptcy or the last day ?
We went bankrupt on 27th May 2014 and discharged on 27th May 2015.
So does the 6 years end on 27th May 2020 or 2021 ?
Thank you or your help.
Regards

Hi Frank

Thanks for posting.

Just to confirm; it would be 6 years from the day bankruptcy was declared, so in your example, 27 May 2020. The only exception that I'm aware of to this is where a bankruptcy restriction order/undertaking (BRO/BRU) is in place. In this case, it would only disappear off the credit file once the BRO/BRU has finished.

I hope this is helpful.

Allen

Ppp

Hi, can you please advise on bankruptcy . What excess income do they take and for how long? Would they take into account children that are dependent on you at university . Many thanks

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Welcome to the forum.

In bankruptcy, if the Official Receiver (OR) sets an income payment arrangement/order (IPA/O), then this will be based on your budget. Your individual circumstances will be taken into account but the OR will have the overall decision on how much you’d be made to pay each month into the bankruptcy petition, and this can last up to three years.

There are expenses that the OR may deem unacceptable, but again this would be based on your individual circumstances and this wouldn’t be confirmed until after you’d sent the application.

If you have more than £20 at the end of the month after you’ve paid your household bills and general living costs, then a IPA/O will usually be set for this amount.

High costs and areas that the OR might class as luxury such as tobacco are likely to be challenged and they might not accept the cost, meaning they could set the IPA/O higher than you’d expect.

I’m not entirely sure about costs for children at university being allowable expenses. They might challenge this with the expectation they could get a part time job or apply for financial support.

You could contact the Insolvency Service before applying and they should be able to help you get a better understanding of costs that might be challenged.

Thanks
Rachael

Ppp wrote: »

Hi, can you please advise on bankruptcy . What excess income do they take and for how long? Would they take into account children that are dependent on you at university . Many thanks

Kazzzie75

Hi, I've been managing to pay my mortgage since I was signed off sick in January 2019. I am on Universal credit. I can continue to make my mortgage payments but I have very little else to live on, which isn't helping me to recover from a bad bout of anxiety and depression. I have equity in my property (theoretically) and I can downsize a fair bit but I feel stuck because I don't have an income. Any ideas?

StepChange_Kirsty

Hi there,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

First of all, you mentioned you’re currently dealing with a bad bout of depression and anxiety. If you’re not already I would highly recommend speaking to your GP or you could speak to a charity such as Mind who specialise in helping with mental health issues and could provide you with some help and support. You find their contact details here.

If you have any unsecured debts it could be useful for you to speak to one of our Debt Advisors who can give you help any advice with unsecured debts which could help you to free up money towards your living costs. The number is 0800 197 1704 and we are available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm.

Alternatively, if you have no unsecured debts, it’s the mortgage you’re mainly struggling with, and you’re considering equity release then I would recommend speaking to our expert mortgage advisors in our Financial Solutions team. Their information is here.

I hope this helps.

Kirsty

Kazzzie75 wrote: »

Hi, I've been managing to pay my mortgage since I was signed off sick in January 2019. I am on Universal credit. I can continue to make my mortgage payments but I have very little else to live on, which isn't helping me to recover from a bad bout of anxiety and depression. I have equity in my property (theoretically) and I can downsize a fair bit but I feel stuck because I don't have an income. Any ideas?