by Foster Wood
You don’t need to know what an IVA is, when your personal finances are in good health. Still it’s a bit like taking no interest in doctors, remedies or hospitals simply because your health is at the present time excellent. Through taking preventive steps, you might very well enjoy a long and healthy life without having any difficulties whatsoever. In real life, not many people are so blessed when it comes to personal well being. The same thing applies to your monetary health. Maybe you should take the trouble to find out what your options are if your personal finances should deteriorate suddenly and disastrously. Disaster may strike if you lose your employment or your personal relationships deteriorate to the stage of separation or divorce or you are suddenly facing the bereavement of a spouse, partner or family member.
One of the primary options for individuals that encounter financial troubles and find themselves to be insolvent is an IVA. In this article we clarify in layman’s terms what an IVA is and what are the key elements of it’s course of action. Commonly asked questions and simple answers are also offered.
Let us assume that you have liabilities and you cannot afford to come up with the agreed repayments to your creditors and that you want to reach settlement with them to pay back what you can have the funds for. Provided you have a steady income and irrespective of whether or not you have assets for instance a house, an IVA may enable you to arrive at agreement with your lenders to repay a part of your debts and to have the remainder written off in a reasonable length of time. An IVA is a formal and binding agreement to pay back a part of your liabilities during a limited duration, frequently five years, but it could be for a shorter period of time. It’s binding on you and on your lenders. Following the term, if you have followed the agreement, all your debts are cleared. Here are a few of the commonly asked questions.
Must I include all of my liabilities in my IVA proposal? Except for secured liabilities including your mortgage or your car HP, all unsecured obligations must be included in your offer for an IVA.
What are unsecured debts? Funds borrowed via credit cards and store cards, personal loans, current accounts, arrears on utility bills such as telephone, gas or electricity, self assessment tax arrears, arrears on council tax, overdue water charges and borrowings from friends or family are all examples of unsecured debts.
Must every one of my lenders agree to accept my IVA proposal? No. Every one of your unsecured creditors have the right to vote to approve or to decline your proposal. They could also opt to refrain from voting and in practice a lot of lenders do abstain. Of those unsecured creditors who do vote however, no less than 75%, as measured by the value of your debts to them, will have to approve your offer for an IVA to come into being. The creditors who did not vote are nevertheless bound by the final decision taken by the creditors who did. All approved IVAs are registered with the government. The key legislation regulating the formation and conduct of IVAs is governed by the Insolvency Act (1986) together with some more recent legislation.
How much money will I be forced to pay into my IVA if my offer is accepted by my creditors? Only what you can afford. Your offer carries an income and expenditure statement that works out your disposable income. Disposable income is the difference between your income (what you earn from your job as well as any other unearned income you may have such as pensions and benefits) and your expenditure (the living expenses of you along with your dependents in addition to your mortgage and car HP repayments). You’ll be required to pay all of your disposable income into your IVA on a monthly basis. Lenders can question the computed amount of your disposable income if they consider your living expenses are too ample. If you can’t reasonably justify the living expenses you have claimed you may have to increase the monthly payments in accordance with changes demanded by creditors at their initial meeting.
For how long will I need to make these monthly payments? The standard time frame for an IVA is five years or sixty months. Yet, it may be less than that if additional monies should become available. For instance, you could re-mortgage your house, with the prior agreement of your unsecured creditors, and in doing so free up an equity lump sum. By paying some or all of this lump sum to your IVA, creditors may agree to lessen the time period of it, making it possible for you to be debt-free in a diminished period of time. The IVA timeframe can be a bit longer than five years and in exceptional circumstances it could go on for six or even seven years.
How about my mortgage payments or my car HP installments? You carry on and repay these directly to your secured lenders and they are allowable expense items which you’ll have listed on your income and expenditure statement.
What about the costs I would incur in an IVA? The charges and expenses of your IVA are taken from the monthly payments you make. You have to pay nothing more yourself. Lenders will need to have agreed these fees at the original meeting of creditors when your offer was accepted.
Can I obtain an estimate of these expenses? Not merely a quote. The offer must include a summary of the expenses of the IVA and these will normally be set throughout the term of the agreement. So, you will know from the beginning what the costs of the IVA process will be throughout its full duration.
How can I get information on an IVA and what will obtaining advice cost me? There are many reputable firms that offer insolvency services on a commercial basis. As part of those services, they offer totally free preliminary assistance to people who call them. Additionally, there are some charitable agencies that offer free advice including the CCCS which is funded by lenders. When an it is accepted by lenders, it is supervised and administered by a licensed Insolvency Practitioner often referred to as an IP. This is a stipulation of the law. The IP charges no fees and draws no money before it is approved by creditors. The IP’s fees then come out of the payments agreed upon with the creditors. If the creditors don’t accept the IVA offer, the IP obtains no fees whatsoever and the debtor has nothing to pay for.
What alternative solutions have I got if I experience personal financial difficulties? The main alternative options frequently contemplated by citizens with personal money problems are to obtain a Debt Relief Order (if the level of debts is low and certain other conditions are fulfilled), take out a consolidation loan (which often lumps all loans into one and extends the term for settlement), to go into an informal debt management plan with lenders or to go bankrupt. It might even be possible to manage your financial problems somewhat differently and find that you are not insolvent after all. In such a situation you may be in the position to deal with your own financial affairs yourself.
How can I get information on all of my options? An effective initial step is to get in touch with a number of respectable insolvency companies (only to be certain that you’re obtaining the best advice and that that advice is consistent). As an alternative you could get in touch with one of the charitable free advice organizations such as the CCCS or a local CAB office. You should not have to pay anything to get information on your alternatives. You will have to furnish full details of your financial circumstances and after the consultation you ought to have a much better understanding of the direction to go next. You may need a number of meetings to get to that point. When you’re satisfied that you know and understand your alternatives, you’re still free to move on, with the benefit of the advice. You do not have to commit to anything at all.