Persons who declare bankruptcy after 1st December 2010 face having to pay more of their disposable income to their trustee than before.
If a bankrupt has disposable income he or she may agree with their trustee (or in some cases the official receiver) to pay a portion of that income to the trustee (each month usually) under what is call an Income Payments Agreement or IPA. The bankrupt may sometimes feel that they cannot afford to pay the amount sought by the trustee (or official receiver) and if the bankrupt and trustee do not agree on the amount to be paid, then the trustee or bankrupt may take the matter to court and the judge decides how much is to be paid, under what is called, for obvious reasons an Income Payments Order. The judge may reduce the payment amount if deemed excessive or unreasonable.
In recent years the practice and policy was to allow bankrupts whose monthly disposable income was less than £100 to retain all of it enabling them to use this money in their own absolute discretion. If the bankrupt had £100 or more of monthly disposable income, then up to 70% of the total disposable income (on a sliding scale) would have to be paid to the trustee for a period of up to three years under the terms of the IPA (or IPO).
From 1st December 2010, only bankrupts whose disposable income (DI) is less than £20 will be allowed to retain that amount. If the DI is £20 or more, then all of the DI will have to be paid to the trustee to address their debts. This is quite a significant change and will undoubtedly sway many insolvent persons away from bankruptcy and towards an alternative financial solution such as an Individual Voluntary Arrangement.
For those declared bankrupt before 1st December 2010 and who already have an IPA or IPO in place the old practice and policy will remain. However, anyone declared bankrupt before 1st December 2010 and who does not (as yet) have an IPA or IPO in place will be subject to the new policy, if an IPA is agreed or an IPO is ordered.
If you become bankrupt and your real disposable income is less than £20 per month or if your main or only income is state benefit payments, your trustee (or the official receiver) will not normally seek to agree an IPA or have an IPO ordered.
Clearly, much depends on how the bankrupt person’s disposable income is calculated but there is little scope for variation since the trustee is obliged to allow the bankrupt to claim reasonable domestic expenses. If the expenses allowed are unreasonable in the eyes of the bankrupt, the option of challenging the calculations in court remains.