Bankruptcy Questions Please Help

donnasmooch

hi everyone i have a few questions reguarding myself going down the bankruptcy route so i hope u can help!

OK first here is a breakdown of my incomings (weekly amounts)
carers allowance £48
child benefit £30
tax credits £139
child maintenance £72

I have been told by someone else on here that my child benefit and carers allowance cant be taken into consideration as income but can someone let me know if my child maintenace can be taken into consideration please it is paid through the CSA and is maintenance for my child not me and it also isnt guarenteed i will get it every month if he decides not to pay it (although he has paid every month for the last 3 years)

Next question is does anybody know if there is any info anywhere on what i can put on my forms in the way of cost of living i have been told that £60 a month for a modest holiday is ok and i know about household bills and stuff but dont know what else i can put also not sure about figures does anybody know what the average figures are for an adult and 2 children? i am really worried that on paper it will look like i have loads of spare money at the end of the month and i will have to pay loads in an IPA so any help would be appreciated please! thanks guys!

fermi

I would imagine that the maintenance would be exempt from an IPA calculation, but I don't know for sure.

The following comes from the OR's guidelines, but beware they are guidelines only.

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/freedomofinformation/technical/techmanvol1/Ch25-36/Chapter31/part7/part2/part_2.htm

These are items on top of essentials like rent/mortgage, food, travel etc.

The costs of some of the disallowed items could be included in ones allowed, as long as it does then not make them excessive.

31.7.19 Expenditure items which can be allowed

The following provides a general list of expenditure items which can be included in addition to basic domestic expenditure when making an IPA/IPO calculation to establish whether the bankrupt has surplus income:

• 
  
• TV licence
• Household and car insurance
• Car tax
• AA/RAC or similar motoring assistance club membership
• Membership of professional body required in order to carry out employment (unless paid by employer)
• Hire of TV and/or DVD/video player (no more than one of each appliance per household)
• Prescription charges - see paragraph 31.7.20
• Dental and optical treatment - see paragraph31.7.21
• Mobile phone costs - see paragraph 31.7.22
• Dry cleaning costs - see paragraph 31.7.23

31.7.24 Other expenditure items to be considered

Outgoings assessed must be realistic and should cover the actual expenditure required to provide for the reasonable domestic needs of the bankrupt and his/her family. It may be necessary when examining the figures provided by the bankrupt to consider other areas of expenditure which the bankrupt may not have included, but which are necessary for meeting their reasonable domestic needs. Some bankrupts may find it difficult to assess the outgoings of themselves/and or their family where the expenditure is sporadic (e.g. buying school uniforms) or prior to bankruptcy they have not been in a position to meet their reasonable domestic needs as a result of other pressing debt repayments.
In these circumstances it may be necessary for the official receiver/trustee to refer to average expenditures in order to calculate the realistic outgoings required to meet the reasonable domestic needs of the bankrupt and his/her family.
The following suggested areas cover other types/amounts of expenditure claimed by the bankrupt which may need careful consideration when making an IPA/IPO assessment.

• 
  
• Clothing - see paragraph 31.7.25
• Holidays - see paragraph 31.7.26
• Hairdressers - see paragraph 31.7.27
• Extra curricular activities for children - see paragraph 31.7.28
• After school clubs - see paragraph 31.7.29
• Pets- see paragraph 31.7.30
• Rent arrears - see paragraph 31.7.31

31.7.33 Expenditure items which should NOT be allowed

The following provides a general list of expenditure items which should not be included when making an IPA/IPO calculation, unless the bankrupt can prove there are extenuating circumstances:

• 
  
• Gym membership
• Sports expenses or club membership
• Additional pension contributions to enhance a pension
• Private healthcare insurance or similar (however see also paragraph 31.7.21)
• Social and entertainment expenses- see paragraph31.7.34
• Satellite TV - see paragraph 31.7.35
• Broadband internet costs (unless shown to be necessary for the bankrupt's paid employment) - see paragraph 31.7.35
• Excessive mortgage payments - see paragraph 31.7.36
• Student Loans - see paragraph 31.7.37
• Regular payments to charitable and religious organizations/tithing - seeparagraph31.7.38

Richard_S has also compiled a useful list of expenses to jog your memory.

See: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=442224

fermi

Also pop back over the next few days as I'm sure others will have useful info on what they put down.

donnasmooch

thanks fermi i am just printing off all the info now from the link u gave me and i will take it with me when i go to CAB to clarify everything!

fermi

Good.

Remember, as I said the official stuff are only guidelines.

The 'Official Receivers' sometimes ignore them if they think an individual case merits it, and that can be good or bad news.