My partner's hopefully going BR on Thursday and I'm a mess!

Petulapickle

my partner has a huge tax bill he cannot afford, stopped paying class 2 NI around 2009/10 and has a further £2k being chased. The tax bill is promoting his bankruptcy and I won't lie, I am a mess. I can't think straight, food is tasteless and I've lost just short of a stone through the stress.

My main worry is proving income etc for the statement of affairs when he hasn't got real accounts apart from bank statements which are also in my name. How does he prove what he needs for his trade to continue and does this get separated on the SOA? Our average monthly income (after proposed tax) is around £2k but it fluctuates and can dip as little as £1.1k and rise to as much as £4k. How will the OR determine what's acceptable for him (family of four) to live on in terms of wage?

My head is like mash over this and I'm worrying about all kinds of things.
Hope someone can help.

tigerfeet2006

OK sweetie, take a deep breath and breeeeeath.

First question I have is: is your DH going BR voluntarily or is he being made BR?

Second question is: what advice has your DH taken on going BR?

Third question: have you taken yourself off the bank account now and have you both opened new accounts? Does your DH have a BR friendly account?

Lets start with that and see where we go. Don't panic too much, we will try and support you all we can.

Flyright

Why doesn't he have accounts? Surely he has the financial statements he is required to present to HMRC each year via his tax returns?

Petulapickle

Thank you Tigerfeet. He's doing it voluntarily and has had advice from CAB and other organisations. We have a joint account with an overdraft so I can't get my name off but have opened my own account and he's opening a Barclays account.

He hasn't filed returns, that's the problem. I opened a letter for him and got the shock of my life so have been spending the last few weeks being a complete mess. We have two boys and rent our home. He has a van for his trade and we have a car which I know will go because it's not 'needed'.

Everything scares me.

Petulapickle

On top of it all, I reckon he owes class 4 Ni too but not sure about the amount.

Flyright

He might be looking at a BRO if he has failed to keep records of his self employment.

alastairq

We have a joint account with an overdraft so I can't get my name off

Hi.............Is the joint account overdrawn, or is it in credit?

If the latter, withdraw the balance and close the account.

If the former, be aware, since it is a joint account, whilst your DH's bankruptcy will remove his liability to pay off the overdraught, that overdraught will become fully your liability. [you are jointly & severally liable for anything owed on joint accounts.

TheGardener

Flyright wrote: »

...
Why doesn't he have accounts? Surely he has the financial statements he is required to present to HMRC each year via his tax returns?
...He might be looking at a BRO if he has failed to keep records of his self employment.

I know you may have an opinion on this but the OP is obviously in need of a bit of calm advice and support on how to get though this - your posts are a little on the prickly side maybe?
This board tries to offer pragmatic advice about how to deal with the situation, not question the whys and wherefores

Petulapickle

This was my one and only post and just wanted to share my story as to what's happened since.

When I wrote the first post back in 2015, I was an absolute mess. Mentally drained, scared and just had one of the biggest shocks of my life. Thank you to those who recognised this and have some good advice.

If anyone is in the same position, please do not be scared. It's so easy to run and hide, but there's no need. Throughout our ordeal, we've only encountered one person who has been negative to my partner and he was from the Tax Debt helpline. The HMRC field officers, people at the court, Official Receiver have all been fine.

Here's what happened. After speaking with a field agent from HMRC my partner set up a direct debit to repay some of the monies owed. He still had returns left to file so he was given about 6 months to get them in. That gave us some breathing space but it became clear that the repayment scheme in place was no longer suitable and in Feb 2016, it was clear HMRC would file for bankruptcy.

After seeking advice from CAB, who also helped fill in BR forms, he went bankrupt in March 2016. It was one of the worst and best days - worst because it's a scary process (in your own head but not in reality!) and best because when he had his paper, he could call the debt collectors and that was the end of hiding from knocks on the door, letters and phone calls.

At the end of March, my partner had his interview with the Official Receiver and despite us both being nervous, it went without a hitch. He was allowed to keep his van, I was allowed to keep the car and our statement of affairs was accepted. The OR actually commented that it was good to see abnormal and straight forward case for a change. How could anything be normal about our predicament? I dread to think what they usually see!

We're days away from his discharge. The year has been tough in some ways but proper budgeting has meant he has been able to take time off work. We've had tremendous support from family and friends, we can finally look to having a normal future!

Despite being day's away from his discharge, I check the register regularly and worry his BR will be extended. I still hate brown envelopes landing on the mat, unexpected visitors (with clip boards!) and unknown numbers calling.

Debt really does affect more than just your bank and credit rating, but there's nothing that cannot be solved.

AndyBSG

Good to hear things worked out for you.

As a former BR myself I often try to tell people that going BR, while it is not something to be taken lightly, is not the apocalypse some people make it out to be.

You'll still find some things difficult for the next 5 years until it drops off the credit file but the worst is definitely now behind you and life can now return to a semblance of normality.

LizzieGoblin

Wonderful end (hopefully it is the end) to the story. But who are these people with clipboards?! :O