Affect on OH

finallysinkingin

Hi all

Been lurking and reading for a while and finally its sinking in that I can't go on.

Looks like BR is the only route but I have a couple of questions ?

I live with my girlfriend and if I were to go BR would I need to declare her income on the forms ? And how would I put things like the rent down ?

Currently I pay the rent, phone, elec and contents ins and she pays the council tax, gas and food but on the forms do I list just for myself?

Oh anyone any experience of the OR in Sheffield/Rotherham?

Thanks

PixiePie

You are classed as a household, so the courts assume you pool your income to pay the outgoings. I had the same thing as you, but it's easier to just do it as what is coming in in full each month (they ask what you bring home and what your partner brings home outright at any rate on the forms) and then to put down the full rent/gas/elec etc etc where indicated on the forms.

It shouldn't have any effect on her whatsoever if she doesn't have the same surname as you, as credit scores are done on an individual now not an address, and unless her income is sky high then I wouldn't have thought it's a massive issue anyway. To be honest if she is earning shed loads, I really don't know the implications of that, (my OH earns a pittance).

Someone who knows more about high earning OH's will be along soon I'm sure, but for a far easier less stressful time (and more chance of an ED ) just pool all in and out goings
(and sorry about the other bit but I went BR in London)

debt_doctor

Hi, what you need to do is to put all the normal family expenses down, rent gas elec, council tax etc,including housekeeping and clothing for 2 people, then put down ALL your income, and in the space ' other's contributions' put in an amount that your girl friend should contribute to those expences, ie half the h/k, half the c/t, rent, gas, elec, etc. ( or if she does not earn enough to contribute half to everything, as much as she can afford )

You should not put down all her income as the OR is trying to establish your spare income for an IPA not your girlfriends !

Best wishes

debt_doctor

Hi, this is from the insolvency service technical manual, hope it helps !!

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 provokea 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.

littlegoldfishie

I'd also be aware that If your GF owns the property, then you may have a BI in it, in which case I'd carefull how you go about the BR. This is a sitaution that has happend to me recently, My BF went BR and even though the mortgage is in my name, the OR is trying to establish a BI. Its a nause and am at the moment trying to convince her that he was just a close friend and rented a room and did not pay anything towards the actual upkeep rather than just the rent he paid.However if she rents it, it'll be much easier for you.Good luck

agathacrispie

I have considerable debts that my husband doesn't know about and i'm thinking about br. Due to financial stupidity in the past we live with my daughter as lodgers. could i go br without telling my husband (none of the debts are in his name also we have separate bank accounts) ? how will this affect him and also my daughter ?

tigerfeet2006

Agatha if I were you I would start your own thread, that way it will get a better response and your questions won't get muddled with another persons.

Welcome to the board by the way, there are a lot of helpful people here.