In the current recession many of us are faced with the dilemma of what bills to pay when we have insufficient income to pay everything. Debt Problems are a common occurence.
(more…)Yes, an IVA will help you get out of debt – but with a few provisos. In the first instance you have to be eligible to enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).
(more…)It’s a question many of us ask ourselves particularly in the current recession. There has been a huge growth in personal indebtedness in the last ten years.
(more…)Anyone contemplating entering an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or engaging in a Debt Management Plan (DMP) or who may be thinking of petitioning for their own Bankruptcy (BKY) already knows that they are in financial difficulty.
(more…)In the world of personal insolvency the annulment procedure applies to bankruptcy only. Only the court has the power to order the annulment or cancellation of a bankruptcy order that has already been made.
(more…)It is relatively easy to determine if you are eligible to apply for a Debt Relief Order. First of all you must be currently resident in England or Wales or, at any time in the last three years, have been resident or carrying out business in England or Wales.
(more…)A Debt Management Plan is an informal and flexible approach, the purpose of which is to resolve personal debt problems where the debtor has difficulty in repaying debts as they fall due.
(more…)With the recession biting deeply here are a few thought on how we might enjoy Christmas as much as ever without getting into (deeper) debt. The answer is DIY. Start with any (raw) materials or ingredients which you have to buy in order to make things such as food, gifts, presents, toys and so on. Pay in cash only. Avoid using credit cards, store cards, debit cards or cheques. If you don’t have the cash, don’t buy.
(more…)The Official Receiver is a civil servant in The Insolvency Service and is an officer of the court and acts as the bankrupt’s trustee unless the court appoints an Insolvency Practitioner (IP) to take that role. Once a Bankruptcy Order is made against you, the court notifies the Official Receiver who immediately takes over the responsibility for administering your bankruptcy including the tasks of protecting your assets and investigating the causes of your bankruptcy.
(more…)Our previous article was entitled ‘How to go Bankrupt’. This article looks at the aftermath of becoming bankrupt. After the court makes a Bankruptcy Order against a debtor, the Official Receiver immediately takes over the responsibility for administering the bankruptcy including the task of protecting the bankrupt’s assets. The Official Receiver is a civil servant in The Insolvency Service and is an officer of the court and acts as the bankrupt’s trustee unless the court appoints an Insolvency Practitioner (IP) to take that role.
(more…)If you want to find out more about how to go Bankrupt, then read this article detailing a more in-depth view on Bankruptcy. This article is written in a simple format with the key steps in going bankrupt in England and Wales explained with links to sources of additional and more detailed information, provided for those who wish to look into the matter more deeply.
(more…)Acceptance by creditors of the IVA proposal at the Meeting of Creditors is a high point for many debtors and completes the third phase of the process as described in the last article. The fourth phase is the commencement of the IVA and is the beginning of the execution phase. Following the Meeting Of Creditors, the chairman prepares the ‘Chairman’s Report’ and circulates it to all creditors, to other interested parties (such as mortgage provider or building society), to the court (for Northern Ireland cases but not for cases in England or Wales), and of course to the debtor. In it is summarised the outcome of the Meeting of Creditors and what the debtor must do to successfully complete the IVA. It also identifies the name of the IP who is going to supervise the IVA. This is often although not always the same IP who acted as nominee up until the Meeting of Creditors.
(more…)The fifth and final phase of the IVA could be described as the beginning of the end of the debtor’s financial nightmares. Many insolvent debtors who choose to enter into an IVA enjoy and indeed celebrate this final phase. The utter joy of seeing the light at the end of the debt tunnel and the cessation of creditor harassment is almost universal. Provided the debtor sticks to the terms of the IVA they can expect to be debt free at the end of the term which is often five years.
(more…)You have at this stage completed the first phase of your IVA which involved taking advice, planning what to do about your insolvency and making appropriate decisions.
(more…)If you cannot pay your credit card bills then it is likely that other bills are not being paid either as they fall due: mortgage, rent, utilities, car HP, loans and overdrafts. However, if credit card bills are the only ones where payments are falling behind, perhaps you can do something about it. You really have to act because the problem grows greater and simply won’t go away. Let’s examine your options.
(more…)An IVA can be conveniently broken down into five distinct phases. Just as Shakespeare wrote about the Seven Ages of Man describing the various succeeding phases of the life of a person, so we can look at the phases of an IVA: firstly there is the planning and decision making; secondly comes the preparation of the IVA proposal; thirdly comes the Meeting of Creditors; fourthly the commencement of the IVA proper – the crucial early period and finally comes the fifth and final phase, the completion of the IVA.
(more…)We have already looked at the first phase which involves planning and decision making. Having determined that you are indeed insolvent and having taken advice from various sources of expertise you have now decided to proceed with an IVA. You have chosen an insolvency firm to work with in the second phase which is the preparation of your IVA proposal. Your chosen insolvency firm has verified that you are insolvent and has already explained all your options to you. You will now need to furnish documentation in regard to your debts and assets, your income and expenditure and full details of your personal and financial circumstances, particularly as to how your debts were incurred. It should not be too difficult to do this provided you co-operate fully with your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) and the case manager who may be assigned to your case.
(more…)It can be a worry for anybody who is thinking of entering an IVA as to how the process will affect their mortgage with the biggest fear being of losing their house. If they are married or simply co-habiting then they want to make sure that anything that happens as a result of their going into the IVA does not impact negatively on their spouse or partner or indeed on themselves and their children. Let’s look at the effects of an IVA on the mortgage of a single person first.
(more…)Most IVAs have a typical duration of five years from commencement. However the duration will depend on the debtor’s circumstances, particularly the key factors of assets, debts, income and expenditure and the attitude of creditors as expressed at the meeting of creditors which precedes the commencement of the IVA. In practice the debtor’s IVA proposal spells out the proposed duration and this may be as short as a few months to as long as seven years.
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