Family allowance, include in soa or not???

debtsucks

hi everyone.

i am confused whether or not i should be including family allowance in soa, conflicting statements

It is my DH which will be going BR mid april and the only income we get is £2185 per month, then the Family allowance which arrives to me (wife) in the form of a girocheque.

Any ideas;)

thanks

Toon_Dave

debtsucks wrote: »

hi everyone.

i am confused whether or not i should be including family allowance in soa, conflicting statements

It is my DH which will be going BR mid april and the only income we get is £2185 per month, then the Family allowance which arrives to me (wife) in the form of a girocheque.

Any ideas;)

thanks

Hi there Debtsucks,

i have stolen this from a post earlier from Fermi (hope they dont mind).

also the thread it is on -

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=811729

From: Part 2 - IPAs Assessment of real disposable income (paragraphs 31.7.6 - 31.7.39)

Quote:
31.7.9 State benefits

An IPA should not be sought where the bankrupt's only or main source of income is state benefit payments without any other significant source of income [note 3]. This applies even in the rare circumstances where the official receiver's analysis of the bankrupt's income and expenditure discovers sufficient surplus for an IPA arising as a result of the income received by the bankrupt which either solely or chiefly comprises state benefits. The official receiver should consider that it is always open to the bankrupt who wishes to contribute, to make voluntary payments. If the bankrupt was minded to contribute on a voluntary basis, having been informed that their income appeared to be sufficient to produce a surplus taking in to account their reasonable domestic needs, a voluntary agreement could be incorporated into an IPA, but it would have to be clearly noted that no enforcement action would be taken if the bankrupt failed to make agreed voluntary repayments.

This does not mean that the official receiver must exclude all benefit payments received by the bankrupt when calculating available income for an IPA. The person making the calculation (usually the examiner) should first consider whether there is income paid to the bankrupt not comprising state benefit . If this is the case, an IPA may be a possibility, and any calculation of income should include all available income, including state benefits which are paid to an individual for the general benefit of that individual and their family. The notable exceptions to this rule when dealing with state benefits is child benefit. The High Court has stated as a matter of public policy that child benefit and similar benefits should not be included in the statement of income when applying for an IPO and there is no reason why this point should not be extended to cover IPAs. Whilst it is acknowledged that in the figures for expenditure there may be outgoings for the benefit of the children, at least to the value of the child benefit received, to ensure that there is no risk of them being deprived of it, child benefit should not be included in IPA assessments. The Department of Work and Pensions website provides useful information regarding allowances and benefits currently in force and can be accessed at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/

Where the bankrupt is in receipt of benefits and other sources of income, the total income should be established (see other income sources at paragraph 31.7.7) and the bankrupt's reasonable expenses deducted (see paragraph 31.7.19). An assessment can then be made as to whether the bankrupt is in receipt of income surplus to his/her reasonable domestic needs. If there is a surplus of income, this surplus should be less than or equal to income from the source other than benefits in order for an IPA to be sought. It should be remembered that whilst the bankrupt's total income including state benefits should be included in the calculation of surplus income, it is the income from sources other than the benefit(s) which is providing the payments under the IPA/IPO, the surplus income from which an IPA is sought should not be comprised of state benefit.

i hope this is some assistance to you.

Dave.

JCS1

You need to show the child benefit as income contributed by other household members (but state what it is too). It will not be included as income for IPA calculations though.

fermi

Toon_Dave wrote: »

i have stolen this from a post earlier from Fermi (hope they dont mind).

I don't mind, but as JCS1 has just shown it is possible to a little more concise. :rotfl: