i am being backed into a corner

[tracey5]

My husband and i entered into a joint iva which was approved at the end of aug 2006. Our debts totalled £45000, and our repayments were set at £300 per month over 5 years, with us releasing £15000 worth of equity from our house in the final year.
Due to the stress we were placed under we seperated th efollowing month and have so far continued to make our monthly payments. My husband started a new relatioship immediately and moved into a falt with his girlfriend last month, which i fear he has failed to inform our IP about. I have treid to explain to him that we are leaglly bound by the IVA and that he will have to complete a new expenditure sheet and as his girlfriend contributes to their accomodation that he will have to disclose this. He is threatening to deny all knowledge that his girlfrind contributes to their living costs and is pushing me for a divorce. He wants me to remortgage our house to offer our creditors a final payment of £20000 in full amd final settlement of our IVA.

I could only just about manage to do this by taking on an interest only mortgage nut am concerned that i am being backed into a corner by my husband and his only main concern is to 'get the IVA off his back'. I am dubious to do this as i am curently off sick from work and am now only recieving satutory sick pay as i am suffering from severe depression and am not sure what the future holds. Advice greatly appreiciated on what my options are.

[DebtDummy]

tracey5 welcome to the forum. I am not an IVA expert. I am someone who has anticipated proposing an IVA to my creditors. Gee, first financial problems, then your marriage suffers, then severe depression. My heart goes out to you, tracey.

So, future ex-hubby wants you to remortgage? Can you do that if you both own the home? Don't you both have to sign on the dotted line of the new interest only mortgage loan?

As for his new girlfriend contributing to his finances
and his denying this fact is his and her concern. Please don't worry about what he does and doesn't disclose regarding his finances. The divorce solicitor will look into that because YOU will tell him/her (smile).

It sounds as though your future ex is taking advantage of you during your time of mental illness. What's he doing forgetting how much he once loved you? Sounds like he has unfortunately. So, you can develop a temporary memory loss and remind him in a firm tone you will NOT be making any decisions until you feel better within yourself.

Also, remind him he has to continue making payments towards the IVA OR it will fail and he (and you)will be made bankrupt and there may not (possibly) be a home to discuss. In your lapse of memory 'share' the fact YOU are entitled to 50% of his pension as part of your divorce settlement.

Another point. Does your IVA have a clause about you're not being able to modify the IVA within the first 24 months? If it does, gently remind him of it(smile).

Tracey5, I am sorry I do not have much IVA information or advice to give you. An IVA professional will arrive shortly and give you some very good advice. I answered out of empathy. I didn't want you to think you were alone.

Food for thought. If this is how he treats you, someone he once loved? How is he going to treat the next woman after saying the same exact words,'' I love you'', to?

Look after yourself, tracey5. Feel better soon. Post whenever you feel the need to talk, rant or rave(smile).You have a lot on your plate presently, let us eat some of it with you to lessen the load(smile).

Take care and much success.



All I have left is my humour.

[tracey5]

Thanks for those kind words, it is nice to know that i am not alone, as that is what it has felt like.

Our iva doesn't include anything that states we can't propose a modification within the first 12/24 months and initally when my husband and i first seperated i enquired if i could remortgage on my own for an extra £20000, which after all the fees would have left me with approx £17000 to offer to our creditors as full and final settlement, which my IP though was acceptable. This would only leave £10000 equity in our house, but my husband said he would sign it over to me at the point of remortgage.
I have been advise though, that as we have two children, which remain in my care, is it acceptable for me to take on the whole of the new mortgage (since he left he has only given me £150 per month as maintenance for the children, £150 for his half of the IVA payment and no other financial support), as that would leave me paying an extra £300 per month for the new mortgage and he would then be left debt free, where as i, although the IVA will end am still left with paying off the debt via the new mortgage. I have also been told that because i have the children that normally if there was equity in the property under normal circumstances that i would get the greater share (plus we bought the property from the local council with a 30% discount as i alone had rented it for three years before i met him).

I am going to consult a solicitor over all of the above, but would greatly aprreciate any advice from any experts as i am unsure if a solicitor will really know all the in's and out's of an iva. I am also concerned about how i am going to find the money to even pay for a solicitor, as anyone in an iva knows we are all on a strict budget! Will it be acceptable for me to suspend payments to the iva for a couple of months unitl i can get back to work - just recieved my pay slip and am £1200 short this month and guess what - insurance policy for sickness won;t pay out for depression - really don't know which way to turn.

[gizmo]

Hi Tracey
You need to see a family law solicitor who will be able to reassure you and advise you fully. they will know about IVA's and it may well be that you could qualify for legal aid. You are having undue and unreasonable pressure put on you so please go and take legal advice - many firms offer a free half hour advice scheme (check when you ring for an appointment)which will allow you to have advice at no initial cost and also be informed if you will qualify for legal aid - I wouldn't stop paying your IVA at this point.

[MelanieGiles]

That's sound practical advice from gizmo. Make sure that your solicitor understands about IVA's before you instruct, and keep your IP informed of progress with regard to the matrimonial settlement. If there is a need to fund any fees, I am sure that they will agree to a temporary payment break for you given the circumstances you find yourself in.

You should certainly not consider remortgaging the property at this stage without seeking proper matrimonial advice, as a home for your two children is the most important consideration at the moment.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[freelili]

Hi Tracey

Just wanted to say as Debt dummy says you are not alone, wow. Just when you think you own life is hard you read something like this. You need to get some advice regarding maintenance for your children, this is outside of Iva/bankruptcy. You could contact the CAB and then take it from there. I feel for you in this, hang in there and keep posting.


LILY

I asked God for a solution and have to live with his reply.

[gimmewine]

Hi Tracey

Hang in there, what you need with severe stress is less worry, not more. So go and see that solicitor, erm like yesterday and let them carry the burden.

They should be able to advice you not only on this issue, but also on the issue of maintenance. £150 for two kids sounds very little to me, I know my friend got £300 for just the one because it was based on her ex husband's ability to pay.

You're in a tunnel right now, but the beauty with tunnels is that there is always light. I wish you the best of luck

[tracey5]

Just thought i'd post to say thank-you for your words of support.

Am no further forward, except i have an appointment with a solicitor on Saturday morning, so hopefully things might be a bit clearer after that.

If any of the other iva experts have any advice to give then that would be most appreciated. Have informed my IP that husband is pushing for divorce, his current living arrangements (what i know!) and that i want to go and seek legal advice before doing anything. Just had an e-mail back to advise that she would deal with and get back to me - just hope that my hubby doesn't start playing silly b*****s as he'll sit pretty in his new falt with girlfrien and me and the kids will be put under more strain by possibly being made homeless if they fail the IVA. Why is it that he can act like a prat and i am the one that is going to suffer - life just seems so unfair!