CAB advised husband to file for bankruptcy

jenkie_2

hello,
my husband went to see a money advisor from the CAB yesterday.
He has unsecured debts of £18,000, he had 8 months off work with depression and fell behind, he payment protection didnt cover him for depression and the banks wouldnt accept a lower amount and have defaulted him.
he is now back in work but struggling to meet all the payments as 8 months on statutory sick pay doesnt pay much.
the CAB advisor advised him to file for bankruptcy as we dont own our home.
one of the debts is for our car and the CAB lady said they will take that but we will cope without that as we can borrow my dads whenever.
he is very scared by it all, he, still not 100%better, so i said i would ask on here for him.
his main questions are
what will happen
what can they take from us, from our house
does it make a difference because he,s working, will they take money from his salary.
also because we are married, will they look at my bank account and want me to pay off some of his debts.
thanks

Broken_hearted

First things first try to stay calm it's not as bad as it sounds, talk to eachother about what YOU want to do. Then seek proper advice.

backontheup

Don't panic. You are in the right company here.

If the car is part of the debt (I take it that it is worth more than £2000?) then it will be taken.

As for coming to your home, this is unlikely to happen. you declare any assets worth more than £1000 and it is only these they are interested in. So if you have any David Hockney paintings or a big plasma TV they are unlikely to be interested.

If he is working they will do an IPA with you, whereby after all your living expenses are calculated, they will take a percentage of the surplus (usually about 40%) Your living expenses will be reasonable (include everything, including haircuts - not at Vidal Sasson obviously)

This will help him get better, not worse. Its a big step, but a huge relief once its done.

jenkie_2

thanks for the reply.
im not working myself, im on incapacity benefit, does that make a difference, or will they still expect me to pay?

Broken_hearted

You will have to pay any joint debts.

rog2

They are extremely unlikely to want to take anything from your house, unless as previously stated you have valuable antiques or state of art TV.
Your benefit payments will need to be declared as part of his Income/Expenditure statement, since an IPA will take all household income into effect - he should stress that your income is made up of benefits.
If your husband needs the car, for his work, and OR decides that it is of significant value to take, then OR should give him some cash in order to buy a cheaper car (it may be worth stating if he needs a car because of your 'incapacity').
If he is given an IPA/IPO then he will be paying this for 3 years.

jenkie_2

the debts are all in his name so does that still mean that im liable to be included in his expenditure?

rog2

jenkie wrote: »

the debts are all in his name so does that still mean that im liable to be included in his expenditure?

The form does ask for income from other family/household members, although the OR will NOT normally ask for details of your bank account (unless, of course it is a joint account).

fermi

jenkie wrote: »

the debts are all in his name so does that still mean that im liable to be included in his expenditure?

If all the debts are in his name then you are not personally liable for any of them.

However when the Official Receiver makes an assessment of his income and expenditure, they will also need to know how much your income is and from what source. This is just so they can get a picture of the household I&E as a whole.

This is only needed so that they can see that household expenses are fairly shared between you, depending on your relative incomes.

The OR will not and cannot take any money from you, your accounts, or your income. But they do need to know how much you get and where from.

joebig

hello
I too am new to this site. Just a few things i think you should consider which i did as i was advised by the CAB to file for bankruptcy in 2004. If the car is part of the debt and if the finance has been half paid then legally you can send it back and this would write off some of the debt. Also, have you tried writing to your creditors and asking for some time to pay? If your husband intends to get back to work when he is better then bankruptcy may not be the best option. I know the stress of debts is tremendous sometimes and can cause horrible arguements at home, but always remember, everyone needs help and advice sometimes and this appears to be the place to come. You have at least taken the first step and that is by facing up to the problem.

Good luck in whatever you decide!