Recently published figures estimate that the cost of rearing a child from birth to twenty one years of age can be up to £200,000. When someone in an IVA becomes pregnant the prospect of trying to sustain the IVA during the pregnancy and especially after the birth of the baby can be a daunting one.
(more…)The key question facing the insolvent debtor is whether to enter into an IVA or to petition for bankruptcy. If the debtor has consulted with an Insolvency Practitioner (IP), both options will have been spelt out clearly as well as any other available options. While the IP’s preferred option is often clear it remains the debtor’s decision as to which option to choose. Strangely, some debtors choose to enter an IVA when bankruptcy is clearly a better option in their circumstances and other debtors choose to go the bankruptcy route when an IVA is clearly a better option.
(more…)If you are insolvent and are considering entering into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) you should check whether you have been overpaid Tax Credits in the past. Any such overpayment may be entered as a debt in your IVA proposal provided the overpayment has been ‘determined’ prior to the date of approval of your IVA. If you think you have been overpaid contact HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) at its nearest tax office and bring your concern to the notice of officers. Request a Statement of Account (SOA) as soon as possible based on your latest income information.
(more…)Individual Voluntary Arrangements are for individuals who have unsecured debt that they can no longer manage. If you’re struggling with debts such as credit cards or unsecured loans, then an IVA may be used to help you avoid bankruptcy.
(more…)In the USA going bankrupt does not have the same level of stigma as it does in the UK and Ireland. In fact, for a small businessman to go bankrupt is almost like a badge of honour in America, because of the forgiving nature of the business environment there and the high regard in which entrepreneurs are held , even those who have tried and failed. Bankruptcy in the UK is almost like a kiss of death for anybody in business. It takes many years to recover from it and particularly in the area of repairing one’s credit worthiness.
(more…)If have money worries, it makes sense to know as much as you can about the various financial solutions available to you. If you are insolvent, one of the available financial solutions is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement otherwise known as an IVA. This short article explains in simple terms what an IVA is and deals with the most frequently asked questions about IVAs.
(more…)Many people who entered into Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) three or four years ago may be worried that their IVAs may fail because of the sharp fall in property values in the meantime. In many cases the IVA proposal, while being largely based on monthly contributions from income, also offered to re-mortgage the debtor’s property in the fourth or fifth year of the arrangement and to contribute a lump sum to the IVA from the equity released by the re-mortgage.
(more…)Question: When is a car loan not a car loan?
Answer: When it is a HP Agreement!
When acquiring a vehicle it is important to understand the difference between finance provided via a HP agreement and finance provided via an unsecured loan. There is an important difference.
(more…)Anybody can offer proposals for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to their creditors provided they are insolvent. It is not necessary to own a home or indeed any other asset such as a car or boat. Your IVA proposal may be based on offering a lump sum or regular monthly payments from your income. If you do not have a lump sum to offer and you have no substantial assets then you need to have some level of regular disposable income to offer to them.
(more…)Being in a Debt Management Plan (DMP) should not in itself prevent you from offering proposals to your creditors for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).
(more…)Believe it or not, in certain circumstances you can enter an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), even if your disposable income is zero. In the current recession many people have lost their jobs and those lucky enough to secure a new job sometimes find that their new salary is substantially reduced from before.
(more…)It can be a concern for people who have become insolvent and who are considering entering into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) whether they can afford the fees incurred in the process. This is an understandable concern but it should not really be a worry. If the firm providing the insolvency service is worth its salt then this particular concern can be put to bed quickly and assuredly.
(more…)A current account is like a best friend of long standing, someone you have known for a long time, whom you trust, who is reliable and dependable, who doesn’t let you down and who knows all your (financial) secrets.
(more…)Figures just released by the Insolvency Service show that the swing away from Bankruptcies to other insolvency solutions continued in the fourth quarter of 2010 (Q4 2010). Not since the first quarter of 2005 have the figures for bankruptcies in England and Wales been so low.
(more…)If you enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), you will generally be allowed to retain your car provided that it is necessary for work or family transport reasons and the car’s value is not excessive. Even if you acquired the car under a Hire Purchase (HP) agreement and are still paying up for it, you will normally be allowed to keep it, again provided that the value is not excessive and the monthly HP payments are reasonable.
(more…)Don’t let the title of this article fool you! You cannot legally keep a lump sum which comes to you by way of a liquidated inheritance while you are in an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). Even failure to disclose to your supervisor the information that you have received such a lump sum is fraud and a criminal offence. You could go to prison for keeping your good news to yourself!
(more…)An essential precondition to be eligible to enter an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is that you must first be insolvent. While there are alternative solutions for the insolvent debtor such as bankruptcy, this review will just consider the pros and cons of the IVA solution if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in this predicament.
(more…)Whether you are already married or just contemplating getting married, if you have financial problems bordering on insolvency, it makes sense to consider the effects of the various solutions on your current or future spouse. Here we will look briefly at the Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) solution and the concerns that married (or co-habiting) people sometimes have about it.
(more…)Once an IVA is set up, you will be required to make your monthly payments towards it. Your Insolvency Practitioner will guide you through the process and will be responsible for handling your IVA while it is ongoing.
(more…)If you are considering offering proposals for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to your creditors, you should be clear as to what debts must be included and which debts must be excluded.
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