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IVA

By debthub

IVA

If you have debts of around £15,000 (or higher) that you are unable to repay, an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) is a Government-backed debt solution that could help you get back in the clear by writing off a substantial amount of your debt. As part of the Insolvency Act (1986), it’s a legally binding means of getting out of debt that helped over 40,000 people per year in both 2006 and 2007.

An IVA proposal can only be put forward by a licensed Insolvency Practitioner. If the IVA is approved, you will pay a set monthly amount towards your IVA, usually for 5 years – after which your debt will be considered settled.

Before entering an IVA, your circumstances will be thoroughly reviewed to determine how much you are able to pay each month once living expenses have been taken into account. Creditors are likely to accept an IVA if they can see that a) you are not able to repay the full amount, and b) they will get more from your IVA then they would by petitioning for your bankruptcy.

How does an IVA work?

1) Firstly, you will speak to a debt adviser about your situation. If they think an IVA is your best option, they will work with you to draw up a proposal, telling your creditors how much they would receive if the IVA goes ahead.

2) The proposal is then submitted to your creditors for approval. A Creditors’ Meeting will be planned to give your creditors a chance to discuss the terms.

3) The Creditors’ Meeting invites your creditors to get together and vote on whether to approve your IVA proposal. For the IVA to go ahead, those who vote in favour of the proposal must collectively own more than 75% of your total debts.

If any of your creditors do not respond to the proposal, it is automatically considered a vote in favour of the IVA.

4) If approved, the IVA begins and you will pay a fixed amount each month, which will be divided between your creditors. This will usually take place over 5 years. Your creditors are legally required to stop charging interest and may no longer pursue any kind of legal action, unless the terms of the IVA are broken.

5) If you are a homeowner, you will probably have to free up the majority of the equity in your home in the 4th year of your IVA, and this will also be divided between your creditors.

6) If you successfully keep up payments for 5 years, the IVA is complete and you are legally debt-free. However, it may take up to a year afterwards for the IVA to disappear from your credit history.
Useful IVA resources:
http://www.debtadvisersdirect.co.uk/iva-solutions/iva-solutions.asp
http://www.gregorypennington.com/individual-voluntary-arrangements.asp
http://www.thinkmoney.com/debt/IVA.asp

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This entry was posted on October 3, 2008 at 11:46 am and is filed under IVA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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