Can you help please?

Richard_S

This is one of those truly awful dilemmas that highlights just how devastating bankruptcy can be. Rog and wdiag have clearly outlined the cases for and against different courses of action and it clealry is a decison between I.S regulations and moral considerations.

If the O.P follows I.S guidelines her mother won't realistically see a penny of her money back. Whatever funds are available now will be swallowed up by the I.S costs, legal fees and God knows what else crawls out of the woodwork.

Which is the most imortant; her mother's retirement fund or banks profits? Legally they're both the same; morally her mother's retirement fund is far and away more important.

Nobody is in a position to say what is right and wrong; it's a case of different people holding different views.

If I was in the O.P's position I would take the risk of a BRO/U and repay the money as quickly as possible in relatively small amounts at a time, hoping that it might go undetected. I'd hang on for as long as possible until such time as one of my creditors petitioned for my bankruptcy.

Richard

wok_boy

What about waiting to be discharged from bankruptcy then paying the money back bit by bit, or would that be frowned upon?

backontheup

Richard_S wrote: »

This is one of those truly awful dilemmas that highlights just how devastating bankruptcy can be. Rog and wdiag have clearly outlined the cases for and against different courses of action and it clealry is a decison between I.S regulations and moral considerations.

If the O.P follows I.S guidelines her mother won't realistically see a penny of her money back. Whatever funds are available now will be swallowed up by the I.S costs, legal fees and God knows what else crawls out of the woodwork.

Which is the most imortant; her mother's retirement fund or banks profits? Legally they're both the same; morally her mother's retirement fund is far and away more important.

Nobody is in a position to say what is right and wrong; it's a case of different people holding different views.

If I was in the O.P's position I would take the risk of a BRO/U and repay the money as quickly as possible in relatively small amounts at a time, hoping that it might go undetected. I'd hang on for as long as possible until such time as one of my creditors petitioned for my bankruptcy.

Richard

Because if the money was taken out as cash in small - say £200 increments over several months, then who could say what that money was for?

rog2

wok_boy wrote: »

What about waiting to be discharged from bankruptcy then paying the money back bit by bit, or would that be frowned upon?

No it would not - but, realistically, the chances that the OP would be in a position to do so, would be pretty remote as she would, effectively, be left with few, or no, assetts after her discharge from bankruptcy.
However, if it is the OP's intention to start up in business again, after bankruptcy, then that is an option that could be considered.

wherediditallgo

I agree, Rog. I don't want to see either of them lose out - I was just playing Devil's Advocate to show what the worst case scenario could be. Hopefully, they'll be able to agree on a partial repayment, & then further down the line the OP can decide whether going BR is the right thing for them at that time.

AK-27

hi everyone! Sorry for not replying to anyone sooner, Ive just found out where all the answers to my post have gone! This site is fab but so complicated to navigate. I tried speaking to my mum earlier on but as she is busy planning my brothers wedding i didnt want to worry her too much.

I wanted to ask your advice on something else though. Ive been told that the OR may try to 'go after' my mum if i give her any money, but what if i say that ive given it to my husband? As he is in the process of going bankrupt himself anyway, surely they wont expect him to pay it all back? Also, my business involves my going abroad, buying goods and selling them on. Will i need to produce documentation and account of my business to the OR?

rog2

AK-27 wrote: »

I wanted to ask your advice on something else though. Ive been told that the OR may try to 'go after' my mum if i give her any money,

That IS true, AK - the operative word being may. If you repaid some of the money that you owe your mum, yet kept trading for a further six months before declaring bankruptcy, it would be difficult for the OR to prove that there was any 'complicity' involved, if you can convince the OR that you were not considering bankruptcy at the time you made the repayment. The fact that you still owed money to your mum at the time of declaring bankruptcy would merely mean that your mum is still one of your unpaid creditors.

but what if i say that ive given it to my husband? As he is in the process of going bankrupt himself anyway, surely they wont expect him to pay it all back?

DEFINITELY NOT A GOOD IDEA

Also, my business involves my going abroad, buying goods and selling them on. Will i need to produce documentation and account of my business to the OR?

The OR will, most certainly, wish to see documentation, and accounts, of your business.

I feel, as I have already stated, that paying some of the money to your mum is a good thing, but deliberately trying to mislead the OR can lead to all sorts of problems, including the imposition of a BRO/BRU which can have the effect of prolonging your bankruptcy restrictions.

By paying money to your husband, HE will then be accountable to the OR and the money could be taken from him much easier than from your mum.

Good luck