Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

patternsandshapes

Thank you all, very helpful and puts my mind at ease too.

naiocsid

Hi, I have a question.

My name is on a joint mortgage however I don't live in the property nor am I on the land registry.  The property formed part of a divorce several years ago and I did sign a document that excludes me from any future claim to the property.

Will this property still be seen as an asset even though I have relinquished all future rights to it?

StepChange_Aidan

naiocsid said:

Hi, I have a question.

My name is on a joint mortgage however I don't live in the property nor am I on the land registry.  The property formed part of a divorce several years ago and I did sign a document that excludes me from any future claim to the property.

Will this property still be seen as an asset even though I have relinquished all future rights to it?

Hi,

Thanks for posting.

When you’re named on the mortgage or have contributed financially in the past (for example, paid towards the deposit, previous mortgage payments or the cost of any improvements and repairs) the Official Receiver (OR) may need to investigate further to establish whether you still have an interest in the property. If you do, your share would be seen as an asset.

If you’ve signed an agreement which confirms you no longer have a claim to the property, you may need to present this as evidence to the OR to support your case.

If you’re considering applying for bankruptcy, I’d recommend getting in touch with a debt advisor to discuss your situation and options in more detail (if you haven’t already). If you’d like to speak to StepChange our contact details can be found here.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

Woman53

Hello, new here so please be gentle.. Have a few questions is anyone could possibly answer for me?

I have decided 100% on bankruptcy over any other option for various reasons including health related so my questions relate to bankruptcy only, thank you.

On what grounds can bankruptcy application be refused please?

Are jobs in Civil Service (not finance related) affected by bankruptcy please?

How is it decided if post bankruptcy IPA is set to 1, 2 or 3 years please? What is that decision based on?

What about some debts that should be statue barred (well over 10 years old, resold several times and new debt collectors letters randomly arriving despite zero contacts with them or previous agencies at all from my side as no longer have any idea what they were to to whom originally as it was so long ago) please?

Where can I find an example what expenses are allowable when creating a budget as part of the bankruptcy application please? I do have a SOA online with Step Change (don't really want to share it on the forum)and want to just click the button to apply for the Breathing Space option while I sort everything else out but would like to know an example list of allowable expenses for a single adult - an easy breakdown what can be accepted as reasonable if such list exists somewhere please?



Many thanks for any guidance offered

luvchocolate

Hi you've posted on the Stepchange thread but I can answer a couple of your questions .
An IPA is for 3 years and any surplus over £20 can be taken 
You will get more help by posting a SOA
We do have some posters with acesss to the figures allowed...which is not for the public to see. 

Woman53

luvchocolate said:

Hi you've posted on the Stepchange thread but I can answer a couple of your questions .
An IPA is for 3 years and any surplus over £20 can be taken 
You will get more help by posting a SOA
We do have some posters with acesss to the figures allowed...which is not for the public to see. 

Thanks - yes I posted on Step Change as need advise from them as per my post. Thanks

luvchocolate

Hopefully someone from Stepchange will be along soon 

StepChange_Aidan

Woman53 said:

Hello, new here so please be gentle.. Have a few questions is anyone could possibly answer for me?

I have decided 100% on bankruptcy over any other option for various reasons including health related so my questions relate to bankruptcy only, thank you.

On what grounds can bankruptcy application be refused please?

Are jobs in Civil Service (not finance related) affected by bankruptcy please?

How is it decided if post bankruptcy IPA is set to 1, 2 or 3 years please? What is that decision based on?

What about some debts that should be statue barred (well over 10 years old, resold several times and new debt collectors letters randomly arriving despite zero contacts with them or previous agencies at all from my side as no longer have any idea what they were to to whom originally as it was so long ago) please?

Where can I find an example what expenses are allowable when creating a budget as part of the bankruptcy application please? I do have a SOA online with Step Change (don't really want to share it on the forum)and want to just click the button to apply for the Breathing Space option while I sort everything else out but would like to know an example list of allowable expenses for a single adult - an easy breakdown what can be accepted as reasonable if such list exists somewhere please?



Many thanks for any guidance offered

Hi,

Thanks for your post.

Bankruptcy applications are very rarely refused (less than 1% of cases are rejected).

The most common reason to reject an application is when the wrong jurisdiction is used (for example if you’re applying for bankruptcy in England but have not lived here in the last three years). It can also be refused if you’re able to clear the debts by using savings.

Bankruptcy is more likely to affect jobs in the financial or legal sectors, but other types of employment can be affected too. I’d recommend checking your employment contract, if uncertain you could contact your HR department or union rep for confidential advice.

An IPA (Income Payment Arrangement) lasts for three years. The Official Receiver (OR) can decide to set one a shorter amount of time, but this would be unusual.

If a debt is definitely statute barred, it won’t be included in the bankruptcy because it’s already unenforceable. The creditor won’t be able to take any action to recover it anyway.

The spending guidelines used by the OR aren’t publicly available, but if you’ve already completed a budget using our online tool our system will have highlighted any expenses which are higher or lower than recommended for your household.

I hope this helps,

Aidan

Woman53

Thanks a lot Aidan, appreciated.

The reason I asked about the length of IPA is because of the wording:

An IPA is set for a maximum of 3 years.

The "maximum" being the key, my understanding was this can vary and can be set for anything up to 3 years ie 1 or 2 or 3.

If a debt is definitely statute barred, it won’t be included in the bankruptcy because it’s already unenforceable. The creditor won’t be able to take any action to recover it anyway.

I have a few that definitely are but they keep on being sold on to new "enforcements" and they keep on sending letters/trying to call. Not original creditors from over 12 years ago now but whoever they sold the debts on and on and on. Not sure how to handle that - aside from the Bankruptcy application in which I know they wont be included. Still, how to handle those when the letters don't even mention the original company the debt was with? Thanks.

 if you’ve already completed a budget using our online tool our system will have highlighted any expenses which are higher or lower than recommended for your household.

Yes I have and there was several options to click "other" but no freetext entry option only the previously listed options were coming up again under "other".

The one I remember was - there was a space for pet insurance cost but there was no space anywhere to put a cost of pet food so I added the pet food cost to my groceries which bumped it up of course - that is just one that I remember.

Many thanks for your help, appreciated.

Woman53

One more question -  apologies don't see an option to edit post to add a question so have to post here separately.

Applying for Breathing Space - when my bank is notified, will they cancel my overdraft facility? It is a Nationwide (if this matters) and I am up to the limit of quite large overdraft so if they were to cancel it, I would have no money at all for all the DD and any living expenses so need to know that before applying for the Breathing Space.

Many thanks