Can I ask a really rude question that's very relevant? No need to answer either on the forum or even by PM. What are your essential expenses and current debt repayments as a percentage of your household income, and would you say your income is sort of lowish, mediumish or highish?
I don't have experience of IVAs first hand - but the things you need to watch out for include there being some kind flexibility in the arrangement to account for unforseen changes in the level of your income or expenses.
But more importantly, do you actually have something to gain from entering into an IVA as opposed to going bankrupt?
Examples of things to gain I can think of would be (Please don't take the third personally - I'm just including everything I can think of!!!)
- You are a chartered accountant or similar and your professional body would expel you (you would still need to check the situation re an IVA in any case)
- You have equity in a house or some other type of asset you want to keep that your wife or a third party introduced by yourself couldn't afford to buy from the Official Receiver
- You have some reason why you don't want your past financial affairs to be opened to the Official Receiver's scrutiny (Such as gifting assets, being reckless or dishonest in your use of credit and worried that the Official Receiver's enquiries could lead to prosecution (eg for obtaining credit through deception) or a bankruptcy restrictions order (eg for reckless or inappropriate use of credit such as a majority of credit card debt being for gambling)
- You are just embarrassed at the thought of your name being in the paper / it seems wrong / I don't like the sound of it / I don't want to have to go up to the court.
Unless one of the first three of these apply, is an IVA really the way ahead? (Four isn't a valid reason - if it's four I'm afraid I need to tell you as politely as possible to get over it. 100s of k of people are going bankrupt - it's the way the modern economy is working, and the recent changes to bankruptcy legislation are there to reflect that.)
Also, your experience of dealing with creditors and those that act on their behalf may influence whether you feel that you are most likely to be able to negotiate reasonable payments with an IP who is desperate to get hold of every penny he can grasp, or a member of the Official Receiver's staff who is a little more detached and realistic.
The Insolvency Service would aim to take around half of the income in excess of essential expenses of someone on a lower income, rising as a %age for someone with a higher income. This might be a guide to consider when making a proposal if bankruptcy is a realistic alternative for you.
Both the Official Receiver and an IP would want to know about your wife's income as she may be making a contribution to the household expenses that you are jointly reponsible for and thus reducing your essential expenditure.
Edit...
I've just seen your earlier post.
"Will my job be a problem?"
The most likely answer is no, they would only know if they noticed in the paper, and as long as you didn't default on an income payments agreement of refuse to supply payslips to the Official Receiver they would never be contacted. On the other hand, a CCJ an attachment of earnings would give them something grumble about!
If you are a chartered accountant, lawyer, or insolvency practitioner, then definitely, it will be a problem. If you are something like a police officer or tax inspector, you should consult your HR department for advice. They will want to see that you have done everything possible to avoid bankruptcy and this would include serious consideration of an IVA if it is possible.
Post or PM me if you want specific advice about a particular job.
"Will my landlord kick me out?"
The likely answer is no.
Are you in arrears with your rent? Do you have a 'social' council type landlord
If you are in arrears with your rent, a council or social landlord will most likely tell you they will kick you out unless you come to a payment arrangement to clear them. It's naughty of them as it's a bankruptcy debt and you don't have to pay it, but they can get off with it; they don't have to let you stay in their house without paying. As any other private sector rent will likely be higher, so the Official Receiver will take this into account when considering an income payments agreement. If there are arrears, a private landlord will most likely apply the boot.
If you have no arrears, a social type landlord has no problems, nor should a private landlord. They wouldn't even necessarily find out. What it would make it difficult for you to do is take out a new contract if you wanted to move house to another private landlord (they'd probably want 6 months rent paid in advance or a guarantor.) This would be a potential problem if you needed to move for work or because the landlord didn't want to rent the house out any more. However, an IVA could well be just as much of a problem in this regard.
The Official Receiver would have to see a copy of the tenancy agreement - they would write to the landlord if you didn't have one. Provide it and they don't need to contact them at all
"Should I wait until we renew the contract with him before I go bankrupt?"
Probably doesn't make an awful lot of difference. If you check your agreement that will say whether it is ended by a bankruptcy. Even if it is, few landlords will want to lose a good tenant for this reason. (Of course if you are a pain in the neck, have never paid rent on time, the council keep complaining to them about the raves and the neighbours about the 18 scrap cars in the garden, lets face it, they're going to treat it as an opportunity from above
) Remember to explain to them that bankruptcy actually made you more able to pay your rent, as it reduced your outgoings!!!
Please PM me if you have any concerns about bankruptcy you don't want to raise here.
Individual Voluntary Agreements 
