IVA and DLA.

cv2021

hi, I’m due my last annual review for my IVA this month. I have 2 children on my own my youngest 2 is severely disabled and in the last year I have moved to a more suitable property for him, which also costs more and the bills cost more as the property is bigger.

due to this it has meant that money has been tighter since my last review but I made it work. My son has recently been awarded dla. And because of his disability I haven’t worked since he was 1 so my sole income is from universal credit. Since he has gotten his dla my universal credit has also gone up as it now includes carers element and disabled child element.

I am so worried about this review because I know my income has risen however my sons care needs cost an awful lot, and now I am able to give him the level of care he deserves with the added money. I have done my expenditure form and there is still enough to make the payments I have done throughout with maybe £20/30 extra.

But I absolutely do not want the IVA to fail as I am so close to the end and I couldn’t cope with going back to square one with it all so close the finish line.

sammieking

Hi there — you’re really close to the finish line, so let me try to take some of the fear out of this for you.

A few important points that should reassure you as I am a registered Advocacy worker in my own right mate:

1. DLA is for your child’s care needs, not for creditors.
It isn’t treated as “spare income” in an IVA. Insolvency practitioners know this. They don’t get to redirect disability benefits into payments — those benefits are ring‑fenced for the person they’re awarded for.

2. Universal Credit elements for disability and carers are also meant to cover the extra costs you now have.
Your move to a more suitable property, higher bills, specialist care needs — these are exactly the kinds of things those elements are supposed to support.

3. IVAs don’t automatically increase payments just because income goes up.
What matters is disposable income after essential costs.
If your costs have risen because of your son’s needs (and they clearly have), then your disposable income hasn’t actually increased in any meaningful way.

4. You’ve already done the right thing by completing the expenditure form honestly.
If your budget shows that you can maintain your current IVA payment with only £20–£30 left over, that’s completely normal. IVAs don’t expect people to have large surpluses.

5. You’re at the final review — failure at this stage is extremely rare.
IP firms want IVAs to complete. They don’t want to fail cases at the last hurdle unless something has gone drastically wrong, and nothing in your situation suggests that.

6. Make sure your expenditure reflects all disability‑related costs.
Don’t under‑state anything.
Include:

• higher heating
• higher water usage
• specialist equipment
• transport needs
• extra laundry
• extra food costs
• medical supplies
• anything related to the new property
• anything related to care routines

These are legitimate, recognised costs.

Your IVA payment should stay exactly where it is, and in many cases they actually freeze payments for the final year if circumstances are tight.

You’ve done incredibly well to get this far on your own with two children and complex needs. Nothing you’ve said suggests your IVA is at risk.

If you need help wording anything for your IP, just shout.

cv2021

thank you so much sammie,

this has really put me at ease, I think I’m just extra anxious at the minute.
I’ve done an extra table just for his DLA on my expenditure form with things I explicitly use the dla for ei transport to his appointments at the hospital and his appointments as this is quite a large chunk, I also take him to hydrotherapy privately and I’ve also added clothing and haircuts as I have to get a specialist out to cus his hair and I’ve also wrote a “letter” if you like going into further detail so hopefully it’s all smooth sailing

thanks so much again!

ManyWays

I would be surprised if you have any problem on the income front - all the "extras" you have mentioned are the sorts of things that DLA is meant to cover. Also, your IVA firm has no interest in failing your IVA at this stage if you are co-operating and have a reasonable argument.

Where there may be m,ore of a difficulty is if you received a large backdated payment of DLA or UC. Have you told the IVA firm about that if you did?