SOA advice, thank you.

Missy07

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1550
Partners monthly income after tax....... 286.65
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1836.65

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 850
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 217
Electricity............................. 39
Gas..................................... 59
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 44
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 30.9
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 7
Groceries etc. ......................... 340
Clothing................................ 25
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 12.25
Car Insurance........................... 31.92
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 43
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5
Haircuts................................ 25
Entertainment........................... 10
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2024.07


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 850
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 850

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................12598.....251.......0
Credit card....................200.......10........0
Credit card....................3493......85........0
HMRC...........................550.......0.........0
Credit card....................3211......115.......0
Credit card....................3293......45........0
Total unsecured debts..........23345.....506.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,836.65
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,024.07
Available for debt repayments........... -187.42
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 506
Amount short for making debt repayments. -693.42

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 850
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -23,345
Net Assets.............................. -22,495

Hi,

My husband is unfortunately in the position where he needs to go bankrupt. It really has been a terrible year.

My husband was working full-time until March 2019. Then, he was offered a new better job. When he was due to start, it fell through because of Brexit uncertainty. All they could offer instead was freelance work, which reduced our income dramatically. Then, he had a breakdown, worsening his mental health issues. He ended up at a local suicide spot and was picked up by the chaplain and taken to hospital.

The loan was taken out in January 2019, when he was working, to pay off his Master's degree loan with extra for considerable car repairs that were needed. (He has to have a car to do his job).

Unfortunately, all this meant that we foolishly relied on his credit cards for money to live and to buy things. After a period of claiming Universal Credit, he started a new position in September. This meant though that we had to relocate, and our living costs have now gone up. He has always maintained his repayments and always intended to. We have now reached a crisis point though, and he can't afford to pay the debts anymore. My mother-in-law has helped us with food and bills etc in the last couple of months as he was making the debt repayments. She can no longer do this though.

Please would you be so kind as to check his SOA? We both feel worried about the bankruptcy process. Thank you so much for your help. I'm sorry for the long post.



1. His income figure is after tax, NI and his pension contributions have been deducted. My only income is Carer's Allowance (CA) as I care for my mum. The HMRC debt is from a joint Univeral Credit advance when my husband was unwell, so I will need to repay this monthly from my CA.

2. My husband uses our car to commute to work. We live rurally, and his office is in a rural location. He has to travel regularly to do surveys as part of his job as well. He receives a mileage allowance when he travels that covers the petrol and wear and tear on the car (which there is). It is a separate amount on his payslip. Does the OR include this as income? (We really couldn't afford an IPA, so I feel worried about this.)

3. Our mobile phone costs are actually £77, and this includes unlimited data. We use our phones as a mobile hotspot, so we have internet services without paying for broadband etc. Both contracts are in my husband's name, but I use one of the phones and pay for it each month. Is all this ok?

4. My phone was stolen three months ago, so my mother-in-law put the money (£400) in our joint account to replace it as it is still under contract and I didn't have insurance. Will this be ok?

5. The grocery amount is for all food, cleaning products, toiletries, makeup and dog food (our little dog has to have a grain-free diet because of digestion problems),

6. The council tax amount will go down to approx £150 in April 2020. The tv licence amount will be £12.93 from March. Obviously, the gas and electricty will go down in the spring too. (Our rented house isn't double glazed, so it gets cold.)

Thank you so much.

MovingForwards

Are all the debts in your OH's name? Are some in yours? Any joint?

It would help if you could break them down as appropriate as if some are yours then a DRO may be possible instead of a full bankruptcy for your OH.

Missy07

Thanks for your reply.

All the debts are in my husband's name apart from HMRC £550 which is joint.

MovingForwards

Ok, the only thing I will say about your SOA is the pet side of things may get bumped down, regardless of requiring special food. To try and counteract that add an extra £20 to your food bill, add an extra £5 or £10 to clothing, about an extra £10 or £15 to petrol.

The joint debt will land on your lap to deal with (or may still stay with both of you as I don't know if they can get written off), the council tax will be down to you to deal with for the rest of this financial year as they are joint and several liability ie where one doesn't pay they go after the other.

Are you still attempting to pay the debts or have stopped to raise the bankruptcy fee?

Hopefully sourcrates or fatbelly will be along and can assist you.

Missy07

Ok, thank you for your advice.

The pet ins/vet bill figure of £42 is made up of £18.65 insurance (she is an older dog); £10 Advocate and £13.50 for her anal glands to be emptied (£27 every 8 weeks), which she has to have.

I have included her dog food in with our £340 groceries. Do you think adding an extra £20 will make the grocery amount too high?

Yes, he stopped making repayments this month. His parents have kindly offered to help him with the bankruptcy fee.

If Sourcrates, Fatbelly and Debt Doctor could help too, that would be great.

fatbelly

Well, I'm half watching the most boring football match (W Ham v Arsenal) so will comment here.

The point of a bankruptcy soa is to give you the best chance of avoiding an ipa. I think you'll be OK with this, even though one or two things look a bit high.

Make sure you're banking somewhere separate from where the loans and credit cards are.

Missy07

Hi Fatbelly,

Oh dear, I'm sorry about the football match. Thanks so much for your reply.

Which figures do you think need to be reduced?

When he has to travel, my husband receives a mileage allowance on top of his salary for the petrol and wear and tear on the car (which there is). It is a separate amount on his payslip. Does the OR include this as income? (We really couldn't afford an IPA.)

I appreciate your help.

D_M_E

Maybe this will help with council tax

Have you considered moving somewhere smaller and/or cheaper to rent?

Missy07

Yes, he has applied for a Co-op basic account for his salary to be paid into thanks. He currently banks with one of the creditors. Will the Coop account stay open when he goes bankrupt?

Missy07

Ok, thank you for your help and suggestions.

Unfortunately, we live in East Sussex, so the rent is expensive. We moved to this place as it is closer to his work. Our little dog is yappy, so we couldn't really be in a flat. As it happens, flats are only slightly cheaper in this area anyway.

billy2shots

Sorry to thread hijack, i'm trying to help a friend with heir debt and wanted to use the statement of affairs template. The one commonly used on MSE in the past is saying page no longer there.

Where is the go to SOA template nowadays?

Sorry OP, good luck on your journey.