A man who pays his bills on time is soon forgotten is a witticism attributed to Oscar Wilde who also claimed that it was only by not paying one’s bills that one could hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes. Unfortunately that is still true today and particularly for anyone who finds themselves insolvent.
(more…)When you enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), you are making a formal agreement with your unsecured creditors to repay a portion of your debt over a limited period of time – in most cases the term is five years, but it can be shorter, when for example you are offering a ‘one-off’ lump sum payment. The lump sum could come from the sale of property or be funds provided to you by your friends or family specifically to enable you to settle your debts. However, most IVAs are based on monthly payments coming from your disposable income for a period of five years.
(more…)Almost fifteen months have now passed since the Law Reform Commission (LRC) of Ireland published a consultation paper on personal debt in Ireland, in which it made many recommendations for urgent changes to insolvency law in Ireland to bring it into line with other EU countries.
(more…)A Debt Management Plan is a debt solution which is created in order to reduce and clear all your outstanding debts without obtaining further credit. You can create and execute such a plan yourself or use a Debt Management Company to deal directly with your creditors, negotiate on your behalf and seek to have charges dropped and interest frozen on your loans, credit cards and all other unsecured debts.
(more…)When buying a vehicle it is important to understand the difference between finance provided via a HP agreement and an unsecured loan. There is an important difference.
(more…)Many people bought property before and during the boom expecting that by increasing equity over a period of years they would get a better return than they would otherwise. The plan was to buy a property at a reasonable price, let it out for a few years, sell it on and pocket the profits. Hence the boom extended to what became known as the ‘Buy to Let’ sector.
(more…)Many people bought property before and during the boom expecting that by increasing equity over a period of years they would get a better return than they would otherwise. The plan was to buy a property at a reasonable price, let it out for a few years, sell it on and pocket the profits. Hence the boom extended to what became known as the ‘Buy to Let’ sector.
(more…)It is remarkable the degree of flexibility that can be built into a well constructed IVA proposal. It can just be like a well made suit – tailored to the precise circumstances of the debtor.
(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 over payment may be entered as a debt in your IVA proposal provided the over payment 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…)In these recessionary times, many of us encounter financial difficulties. We struggle along from month to month and wonder if we understand the extent of our difficulties. Should we be more worried than we are? Should we be less worried? Now, that would be nice. There are two tests which can help to determine if you are solvent or not.
(more…)A Debt Management Plan (DMP) is a plan to repay all of your debt but at a slower rate and over a longer period of time than you agreed to do originally when you took out your loans or when you entered into your credit agreements. In other words you are suggesting to your creditors that you will repay your debts to them but not in accordance with the original terms and conditions.
(more…)Some of us lucky enough to have retained employment in these straitened times still feel under sustained financial pressure. If the truth be told, a lot of people whether employed or living on social welfare benefits or indeed on pensions are living hand to mouth. If next week’s or next month’s pay check did not materialise, we would be in trouble and unable to buy food or other necessities. An exaggeration, you think? Well, maybe in your case but I know a lot of people whose lifestyle and living circumstances are balanced on such a financial knife edge. What is the price of losing your balance?
(more…)Bankruptcy in the UK can end in twelve months and usually does.
The UK has an array of insolvency procedures that enable a debtor to avoid bankruptcy. These include Individual Voluntary Arrangements (debts over £15,000) and Debt Relief Orders (debts of less than £15,000).
(more…)The objective of bankruptcy law is to realize and distribute the bankrupt’s assets fairly amongst creditors. Protection of the debtor is very much a secondary objective.
(more…)Judging by the latest list of bankruptcy petitions, it seems that in Northern Ireland almost every occupation, trade & profession has been adversely affected by the recession with the possible exception of the candlestick maker. And that’s only because there are so few, if any, of them left. Students, unemployed persons and those who are retired have not escaped either.
(more…)Time and money are two key resources in any successful business. They encompass and conjure up ideas of costs, budgets, productivity, deadlines, profitability investment and so on. The list is endless. The analogy with bankruptcy or rather the legislation dealing with bankruptcy in Ireland springs to mind.
(more…)It looks like the term of yet another Fianna Fail led coalition government in Ireland will have passed without the passage of any legislation to address the issues of personal insolvency. While the Law Reform Commission (LRC) has carried out Trojan work on the issues of personal debt, culminating in the publication of consultation papers, interim reports and recommendations for legislation, it appears that the current government has neither the will nor the energy to enact the necessary laws.
(more…)It’s only natural to ask if creditors will take every penny of disposable income if we find ourselves in an IVA and leave us nothing for discretionary spending, for emergencies or for ‘rainy day’ events. The answer, in a nutshell, is no.
(more…)There are various parties to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) who have to be informed about it because they have a vested interest in it. These include your creditors such as banks with whom you have overdrafts or loans, credit card providers – unless your accounts are in credit, other loan providers, mortgage lenders and car HP providers and so on.
(more…)Want some ideas on how to avoid the post Christmas blues when we have to deal with our Christmas spending or rather over spending?
Top tip is to plan for the festive season. This means listing what we want to do (and what we do not want or need to do). We make a simple list of ‘must do’ activities and decide on the maximum we are able and prepared to spend on each item. This is simply formulating a budget.
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