www.iva.co.uk

Im a single mother of a 3 year old, part time at work earning £800 pm, my tax credits add another £250 on top + £72 a mth child benefit. Ive managed to get myself into a bit of a state and now have debts of £18,000, all on credits cards on 0% or low rates. Am struggling with the £350 pm payments and wondered how an iva works for single mothers? Still 5yrs? Payments of £200+ pm? HELP!!

Hey Zoe, welcome to the forum. I would recommend you speak to an Insolvency Practitioner so that ALL your options can be discussed with you. It might be best if you consider a debt management plan as your income and debt are quite low. Don't worry, there is a solution. Please wait for an expert to advise you. X

An IVA is perfectly fine for single mothers, so long as you could afford to make reasonable repayments. The Supervisor will need to know why you are not receiving any child maintenance as the lack of this support may well have added to your difficulties.

Hi Zoe,

As mentioned above an IVA would need reasonable monthly payments, not only to meet the creditors requirments but also to be realistic and affordable for you.

If you are struggling with the £350 monthly payments, then you need to work out what is affordable by listing all the normal household expenses you have and deducting this from your total income (ie with all your benefits as well as your wages.

Bear in mind that there are other options, if you make your budget too tight just to meet the IVA payments of say £200-£250 a month, you may struggle with this also. You may find a simple Debt Management Plan may be a better option.

The right solution is one which you can afford not just initially but over a longer period of time - ie it puts you back in control of your money!

Do you have any assets that would be at risk in bankruptcy - a house or car?

If not BR is another option open to you, and would allow you to have a fresh start.

Hey Ray. The answer to that would be NO! [:X]

I saw all the new posts on my iPod while I was in bed so I went downstairs to see if I could help. Ended up wide awake, didn't go back to bed til 5am!

[:D][:I]