Advice on iva or bankruptcy please

fatbelly

OP - your priority is still to get somewhere to live.

You will of course then have to pay your rent, council tax, gas, water, electricity...

If that takes all your surplus income then the option is chosen for you - go bankrupt.

PJCBEL

Thank you all for your replies, you've really helped me make a decision

PJCBEL

Thank you all for your replies, you've really helped me make a decision

PJCBEL

Johnsmith2016,
Thanks for reply can I ask did u find bankruptcy procedure stressful? At minute I've no tenancy agreement to provide as I pay board to my sister and friends will I need an agreement to show my expenses as looking at rental costs I'm not sure I can afford it without overtime or extra money coming in?

sourcrates

PJCBEL wrote: »

Johnsmith2016,
Thanks for reply can I ask did u find bankruptcy procedure stressful? At minute I've no tenancy agreement to provide as I pay board to my sister and friends will I need an agreement to show my expenses as looking at rental costs I'm not sure I can afford it without overtime or extra money coming in?

The procedure has changed now, it's all done online and via the post, plus the call from your OR.

That's it, no need to go to court, just pay the fee, organise a new bank account, do a workable budget, if no surplus, then no IPA, make sure there's no surplus !!!!

PJCBEL

Cheers sour crates appreciate you taking time to reply. I live in Northern Ireland so I'm not sure if it's totally online here, I think I can do application online but I still think there's a court to attend. I'm stressed about the whole thing I never imagined I'd end up like this but there's little option left to me and as someone else suggested above its looking like a no brainer.

PJCBEL

Is it suffice for me to state on SOA what I'm paying for board at minute or do I need to provide evidence to prove my outgoings? I've a verbal contract with my sister and a friend and I basically pay as I stay. I'm saving money as all my bills and some meals included. I can't afford to rent my own place without extra income and then I'm back in same old cycle less family time and arguments with ex as I'm over committed either financially or time wise. At the minute I know the family time is more important as I've an 18 yr old who has no time for me now as in his formative years I was a stressed out obsessed gambler and I now have no relationship with him and I can't make same mistake again. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place!

fatbelly

It looks like the Northern Ireland procedure has not been updated yet. From Citizens Advice:

How to go bankrupt

If you decide to go bankrupt, you will need to apply to court.

Before you do this, try to make sure you have enough cash for day-to-day expenses as once a bankruptcy order is made, your accounts will be frozen.

To apply to court for bankruptcy you will need to take the following steps:

Find out which court to go to

All bankruptcy cases in Northern Ireland are dealt with in the Chancery Division of the High Court in Chichester Street, Belfast. The office in the Court is the Bankruptcy Office.

Contact details for the High Court are:

Chichester Street
Belfast
BT1 3JF

Telephone: 028 9023 5111

Pay costs and fees

When you apply to go bankrupt, you will need to pay a deposit of £525. You won't get this back.

There is a court fee of £115. Depending on your circumstances the court may waive this fee. You should ask the court staff for more information on this.

There will also be a fee for a solicitor to witness your sworn affidavit. This will usually cost around £7.

You should make sure you have enough money to cover the deposit before you apply to go bankrupt. If you can't afford to pay the deposit, you might want to think about applying for a debt relief order instead.

Fill in a bankruptcy petition and a statement of affairs

You will need to complete the bankruptcy petition (form 6.30) and statement of affairs (form 6.31). Both are available from the High Court. The Insolvency Service has a website allowing you to fill in your statement of affairs form online. You can also download the bankruptcy petition form and pay your deposit using this site.

When you fill in the forms, you must list all your creditors, even if you disagree with one of the debts. You must also give details of all your bank account and building society accounts. You will be asked to list other assets and items with a resale value, for example, antiques. Any valuables you list in this section of the form risk being sold.

It’s a good idea to keep a copy of your completed petition and statement of affairs forms as you may need them later at the interview with the Official Receiver.

Swear an affidavit

In Northern Ireland you swear an affidavit before a solicitor stating that the information you are giving the court is true. This means that you swear to the court you have told the truth in the petition and statement of affairs forms. You will usually have to pay the solicitor a fee for this service of around £7.

If you make false statements on the forms, or don't tell the Official Receiver about all your property, this is a criminal offence and you could be fined or sent to prison. It is also a criminal offence to conceal property or documentary evidence, or to get rid of property before you go bankrupt.

Getting a hearing

In order to get a hearing you will need to take the following forms to the court when a time for the hearing will be arranged:
•Bankruptcy Petition
•Statement of Affairs, if you filled it out online take a printed copy
•Sworn Affidavit
•Deposit or receipt for the deposit if paid online.
•Court Fee

It is a good idea for the hearing to be held as soon as possible as this will protect you from further legal action by your creditors, the people you owe money to.

At this point you should get together money to live off once an order has been made as your bank accounts will be immediately frozen after this hearing if your petition is successful.

The hearing

You should try and attend your bankruptcy hearing. At the hearing, the court can make a number of decisions:
•Accept your application by making a bankruptcy order.
•Reject your application if, for example, they think there is a better solution to your debt problem.
•Stay proceedings, usually if the court needs more information
•Appoint an Insolvency Practitioner if the court thinks an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) may be appropriate

What happens when a bankruptcy order is made

Once the bankruptcy order is made, all your bank and building society accounts will usually be frozen immediately. This will include any joint accounts. Your money will come under the control of the Official Receiver.

The Official Receiver will arrange an interview with you. This interview will usually happen within ten working days of your order being made. Depending on your circumstances this can be done by telephone. If you are prefer a face-to-face interview you can request this. You will have to confirm the interview, collect any financial information they have requested and fill in a questionnaire. This questionnaire repeats a lot of the information from the statement of affairs. It will help to have a copy of your statement of affairs form handy for this interview.

After your interview, the Official Receiver will tell your creditors about the bankruptcy, and send them a report with a summary of your financial situation. Your assets will be sold to pay off some or all of your debts. The costs of the bankruptcy are paid first from the money that is available. The costs include fees that the Official Receiver charges for dealing with your case.

When does bankruptcy end

Your bankruptcy will normally end after one year.

The Official Receiver will tell you when the bankruptcy is over. Most debts that haven't been paid will be written off. Some debts are not written off at the end of bankruptcy and you will need to make arrangements to sort these out.

You can get help to sort out debts which you can't write off from an adviser, for example, at a local Citizens Advice. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

sourcrates

Ah yes it does seem a little more complicated in NI.

But you have to think about it like this, it's only a few minutes in court, after which a hearing will be arranged, then that's the had part over with, there will be an interview with your OR, then it's done.

It's a bit more involved than it is on the mainland granted, but if it's your only option, best to bite the bullet and get in with it.

PJCBEL

Thanks again. have you any advice on any evidence I need as regards my board as it's completely informal as it wasn't meant to be a long term solution but unfortunately it's looking like it's going to have to be