A little bit of advice please.

folkestonelisa

Its looking like my hubby is going to have to give up work through disability and due to the debts he has will have to declare himself bankrupt.
However, although i have debts i would like to pay these, not as much as hubby so hoping we arrange some payment plan.
However, how will it affect me if hubby goes bankrupt?
I work and dont want to give it up, although i understand it will be financial hard for us i dont want to stay at home and live on benefits.
We believe he will be entitled to some form of DLA and hope we get some help with our rent and council tax.

I would prefer no critisim please as we are having a very tough time at the moment due to hubbys illness and the fact its stopping him doing anything at the moment.

Just so unsure at the moment what will happen.
I.e will i have to change our bank account or can i still have mine but open another one for him?

So any help would be welcome.
(i have sort advice regarding our debts, and bankruptcy for him will be the best option as he owes over £25,000)

Mouse1812

Whilst this can be a scary time, it is only a fear of the unknown. Believe me, once it is all done and dusted, you will join the ranks of those that say “don’t worry” nothing bad happens.

Your husband appears to be facing a “no fault” bankruptcy, in which case things should progress quite smoothly.

However, he must now avoid taking on any more credit or doing anything which will make things worse for his creditors. Don’t hide anything and restrict his spending to “just living” and all will be fine.

Before your husband goes bankrupt close (or remove your name from) all joint accounts - so you are not “financially linked”. You can keep any which are in your sole name, and yes he can have his own but the bank may close it. The suggestion is he gets a co op cashminder account asap.

On bankruptcy all your husband's assets belong to the Official Receiver “OR”. In practice you are allowed to keep everyday household items (furniture, TV clothes etc). The OR will only be looking for things of value like cars, property and cash in bank accounts. They do not normally visit you and take things away like a bailiff tries to. From your post I have a feeling that he will have nothing and this should be of no concern.

The OR will look to see if you husband has a surplus of income over expenditure. If he does they may require him to make a monthly contribution (IPA/IPO) to his bankruptcy. However if his only income is benefits they can not ask him to pay anything. While they may need to know about your income, you can not be required to pay anything. They just need to know you are contributing your “fair” share. From what you say I suspect there will be no requirement to pay anything.

Everyone on here reports relief after the court process - everyone was so helpful and nice (even the judge) they all say.

Everyone then tells us the OR was very friendly, no telling off, no criticism.

It’s true what they say, I know.

Tigerfeet will be along sometime to give you her list of things to do, and most importantly details of who to talk to for free.

You have no need to be in fear of the unknown here, keep popping back and feel free to ask any questions you have.

folkestonelisa

Thank you Mouse.

Will start putting into place things so we are not financially linked at all.

Its so unfair as we have tried so hard to clear our debts and it looked like things were really looking up for us but hes developed an illness that has come on so quickly. (maybe it happened as things were going well for us:mad:)

tigerfeet2006

Hi and Welcome to the Bankruptcy (BR) Board, there will be no judging or critisisam from any of the regular posters here. First step is to make a list of all your creditors, debts and assets. Secondly and most important is contact one of the following debt charities. Please try these they don't charge and are impartial. They will go through all your options with you and if they suggest bankruptcy then come back to this board and we will help you all we can. Also if your not ‘clicking’ with one of the Debt charities do try another. We advise you to try at least two others for your own piece of mind. Your BR could be refused if you have not sought advice. I know you say you have already sought advice but I will leave these bits in just for completeness and for any lurkers who are not sure what they need to do.

* Blue text on this forum usually signifies hyperlinks, click on the blue links below *
Main recommended sources of help:

• National Debtline - Website: National Debtline Telephone: 0808 808 4000
• Citizens Advice Bureau - Website: Citizens Advice or visit your local CAB centre (find nearest)
• StepChange (formerly CCCS) - Website: StepChange Telephone: 0800 138 1111

Others:

• Business Debtline
  - Website: Business Debtline Telephone: 0800 197 6026
• Christians Against Poverty
• PayPlan
• TaxAid - Help with tax debts.

Please don’t do anything rash take your time and weigh up your options and read everything you can.

We often ask you to post your SOA so we can see if you have included what you need to:-
MSE SOA Calculator - Click here
Select the MSE format at the end. Copy and paste onto your thread.

For ‘essential’ BR info the ‘Look here first’ sticky by Fermi.

BR friendly home insurance thread.

BR Friendly Bank Accounts ~ [Updated Sep 2012 re: Co-op Cashminder withdrawal]

BR Abbreviations

Beth's Guide Reasons for your BR

Charities who help with BR Fees

Bankruptcy NDL Guide

Basic Bankruptcy Advice & Guide NED CAB

If you are new/old to this board and receive/see a comment that is not helpful or insensitive please don’t let it put you off posting, often these comments are made by people who don’t normally contribute to this board and don’t speak for us.

What to do if you get an insensitive or hurtful comment.

And do remember we’ve all been through this and anything you don’t understand don’t be afraid to ask.


Best wishes
TF...x

National_Debtline

Hello there.

Here''s a link to our bankruptcy fact sheet, it outlines the basics (although Mouse has very eloquently outlined the key aspects already!): http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=01_bankruptcy

To find out what sickness benefits your partner may be entitled to do consider calling the benefit enquiry line: 0800 88 22 00.

Hope you find this information useful,

David.