Realistically, what does it take to go bankrupt in the UK?

Ok, I know some of this has been covered before, but wondered if you could provide me with a specific answer to my personal predicament.

Long and short is that we have a mortgage which we pay with no issues each month. We pay our utility bills on time and make sure our children are clothed, fed and well looked after. We dont smoke, drink or go on holidays as a result of ~50k of unsecured debt (loans, cc, cu). We borrow each year to pay off things like house and car insurance and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, albeit 5 years away.

My wife and I relationship is strained by this and I have contacted my lenders to see if they could cut us some slack. I really dont want to go into arrears but it seems like most will only listen when you do. I would like to pay off the debt and if they could freeze the interest and spread the repayments over say 10 years - I will have fulfilled my moral duty of paying off what I owe.

The one thing that keeps popping into my head (and I could be misinformed), is bankrupcy in the UK, whereby we will be debt free by 2013 (again this is my understanding and is why I am asking the question)

I am originally from UK and have family there, and a National insurance number as I worked there from leaving school to moving to Ireland.

I know this is a sensitive subject, but wanted you advice on the process, not neccesarily an opinion on whether it is morally right or not. I see that many 'businessmen' have avialed of this owing millions and was just wondering if someone could answer me a few questions :

a)How long would I have to live in the uk before coming back to Ireland?
b)Could I live in the UK and commute to Ireland for work, or just leave my job here and try to get something when I return? i.e. UK would have to be my primary residence
c) Presumably we would lose our house - even though it is under both names?
d) Again, my credit rating would be shot here, or do you, 'start afresh' when made bankrupt?

As I say, if interest is frozen and repayments spread out over a longer period, I would pay back every cent I owe, but I honestly cant continue like this for another 5 years

Anyway, any help appreciated
c)

scarednow said:

We pay our utility bills on time and eat and clothe our children.

Click to expand...

I think that Swift was just joking when he suggested that?

Yes, could have been worded better I guess!

Have you looked at Steve Thatcher's threads



and posts



on this topic as some of the general points/advice may be pertinent to your situation?

Hi Clubman,

The link is not working.

aj

Which link? The three that I posted work fine for me.

a)How long would I have to live in the uk before coming back to Ireland?
b)Could I live in the UK and commute to Ireland for work, or just leave my job here and try to get something when I return? i.e. UK would have to be my primary residence
c) Presumably we would lose our house - even though it is under both names?
d) Again, my credit rating would be shot here, or do you, 'start afresh' when made bankrupt?

Hi, I may be able to answer these and a few other questions.

Ok first you would need to move to the UK even tho you may have lived/been born here before.
You would need to establish you centre of main interest here. and you also need to live in a courts jurisdiction for the greater part of the last 6 months, so in reality that is four months.

You need only live in the UK long enough for the Official Receiver to deal with your affairs. That changes from case to case. My cae studies here show people being in the UK for 10 months after the bankruptcy. There is no case law however. Once the OR has finished with you, if you got a job in Ireland, you could move back, just tell him:-}

UK needs to be your habitual residence. I always advise a live and work strategy. That way there is no investigation!

If you don't pay your mortgage you lose your house. If just H goes bankrupt lets say, his share vests in the OR. The W could ask to buy it back. Why you can't afford it anyway. My advice is that if you are both liable, if the house is in neg equity and you both move to the UK, go bankrupt as a couple. I do this all the time. Leave the house, it will be sold and the shortfall written off.

Your credit rating will be shot for 6 years. But then again you will be debt free. The financial market exists to lend money. A lender will emerge to lend to bankrupts who are debt free.

I hope I have helped

Steve