Partners Contribution And Cars Please

lisahelp

I really hope someone can give my some advice i am currently filling out my forms.
My situation is that i work to support the house as my partner is not able due to illness,i am filling for BR,i understand if i am correct that i put my partners contribution in,do i put his full benefit in or just an amount as in my i&e i am not putting in any up keep for his car,or do you think that i should put all his benefit and include money for his car ie;petrol,mot etc,is there any chance that the OR could take his car it has allways belonged to him he paid for it etc im just worried in case they take it.
thanks

rog2

You do need to declare your partner's income, for possible IPA/IPO calculations, but you should point out that it is made up, entirely, of benefits.
His car, providing it is registered in his name, will be of no interest to OR.

blind-as-a-bat_2

31.7.16 Income received from spouse/civil partner/partner
It is reasonable to expect that within the household of the bankrupt and his/her family, the income received by a working spouse/civil partner/partner (all referred to as "partner" for the remainder of this section) or a partner who receives income from other independent means, will be used to contribute to the household expenditure in some way, for example by purchasing food, clothing for him/herself and any children, etc. The bankrupt may genuinely not know his/her partner’s income and/or the partner may not be willing to disclose it to the official receiver as they are not personally subject to the proceedings. Legal advice has been received that it is not a proper use of section 366 [note 11] to have a partner privately examined for the purpose of obtaining details of his/her income to establish whether an IPO may be obtained or the level of that order and there is no reason why this should not extend to cover IPAs.
Where resistance to the disclosure of the partner's income is encountered, in the absence of any information to the contrary, it is appropriate for the official receiver to assume that the working partner pays for 50% of all household expenditure. This amount can then be incorporated into an IPA/IPO calculation to assist the official receiver's decision as to whether the bankrupt has sufficient surplus income against which an IPA/IPO can be obtained. It is likely that an assumption of this nature will provoke a response from the bankrupt and/or their partner and if the required information is then forthcoming, the official receiver may re-calculate the income and expenditure of the bankrupt taking in to account the information provided with regard to the actual contribution of the partner, to establish whether the bankrupt has surplus income available for an IPA/IPO. Flexibility will be required in any re-assessment, especially where the partner works part-time.
As with state benefits which supplement earned income, whilst it is acceptable to include the income of the bankrupt's partner as part of the total income received in to the household of the bankrupt, it should be noted that an IPA/IPO claim can only be made against the surplus arising from the bankrupt's income. Any calculation of surplus income for the purpose of obtaining an IPA/IPO should work out the surplus available having assessed total income and total expenditure of the bankrupt and his/her household, then proportion the extent of any total surplus arising against the income contributed by the bankrupt. The Income Payments Calculator available on the Technical Section intranet site may assist in proportioning the bankrupt's share of any surplus when assessing an IPA/IPO.

This may explain it better (or not )

edit- The intresting bit is the term 'working partner'

lisahelp

thanks,
i know i need to declare his income but it is asking what does he contribute,do i put half or it all as he also has things to pay for ie petrol etc or would i put the whole lot on the i&e the car insurance petrol etc and all his income,there is a question on the form that says do you have use of a vehicle that you do not own? i have ticked no on the advice of the insolvency service helpline i m not sure what to do any advice>
thanks

rog2

blind-as-a-bat wrote: »

The thing to try and achieve is to show that your OH contributes at last 50% of the house hold expenditure if you can then the OR has no right to question your OH at all unless fraud is suspected

Hi Blind-as, May I ask where this comes from, please? At the time that I was declared bankrupt, the ONLY household income was coming from my wife's income. She has a car and I did not (mine having been repossessed).
The OR did ask me if I had use of any family member's car, to which I answered, truthfully, only occasionally as my wife needs it for her work. Nothing further was mentioned.

rog2

lisahelp wrote: »

thanks,
there is a question on the form that says do you have use of a vehicle that you do not own? i have ticked no on the advice of the insolvency service helpline i m not sure what to do any advice>
thanks

That sounds fine, lisa.

sweeper12

Hmmm...

This is where I think I may have future problems when I fill in my IPA. My OH only works part time, he gave up full time to look after me and help me with my jobs that I would have had to give up. He has loans and credit card which virtually take most of his own wages alone. How on earth am I going to explain that to the OR ? If they assume he pays 50% of all our outgoings we are gonna be in a right mess as it's my pay and DLA that generally covers household expenses - just !!

fermi

Hi sweeper12.

The OR will only make 'assumptions' of any kind if you 'do not' or 'refuse to' provide adequate info to the contrary.

Each case is assessed on an individual basis. If you have to pay a level of household expenses that is disproportionate to your income compared to that of the household as a whole, then provide all the info as to why this is.

The OR is flexible and has a duty of care to ensure that you are left with a level of income in any IPA calculation to provide for your reasonable needs.