"Failure is delay but
not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street." William
Ward.
"Help. I can't deal with the debt and the divorce."
Yes, you can.
There are many people willing to help you sort this out and we
will introduce you to the UK Insolvency Helpline. This free advice
agency will provide FREE and PROFESSIONAL advice.
Unfortunately, divorce is not just about dividing up wealth. In
many cases, the cause of a break up has been debt and this problem
does not disappear on divorce. Many people are in debt because
of many different reasons and often due to circumstances outside
of their control. When you are in debt, you can feel out of control.
Together with the divorce process, this can seem like a nightmare.
But help is at hand to regain control. The first step towards regaining
control is seeking out information and guidance.
"Success is 99 per cent failure." Soichiro Honda
WARNING!
You may have come across companies who offer to sort out your
debts for you on payment of a fee. As we have said, there is
much professional
advice freely available and any money paid out as a fee, would
probably be better spent reducing the amount of your debt.
You should be very careful when considering a company which
charges
as although they may say that they can make your creditors
(the people you owe money to) write off part or all your debt,
this
is unlikely to happen unless your circumstances are very special
indeed. Also, be very careful when considering any offer to consolidate
your debts. The hidden danger is that you could end up paying more
or even lose your home as these loans are usually secured . This
means that if you do not keep up payments, they will enforce the
debt and you would probably have to sell your home. This, of course,
could be worse than your original situation.
Where do I start?
Step one is to get all the details
down on paper. This is the only way you can attempt to get a
clear and accurate picture of your
financial situation. The UK Insolvency Helpline provide professional
advice which is totally FREE. They also provide a budget sheet
with instructions about what to include.
But my spouse
is still creating more debt
If you fear that
your spouse may make this situation worse, you should take steps
to avoid this. Under normal circumstances, it
is best to be able to discuss matters first but you must do your
utmost to protect the family's financial position. You must realise
that you are jointly liable for debts when you are both signatories.
You can inform your spouse about what action you have taken and
why. It may be best to do this straight away as any delay could
lead to undue hardship, shock and resentment.
If you have joint bank accounts, you could ask your bank to freeze
these until you have reached a financial settlement. This, of course,
could have repercussions as neither of you could draw on the accounts.
Another way round this is to ask the bank to arrange for joint
signatures to withdraw sums of money. You could also close the
accounts and arrange for a certain sum of money to be paid to your
spouse's personal account. This would perhaps be preferable, especially
if you are the main earner and there are children.
If you are both joint holders of credit or store cards, it could
be wise to take some action. If you were to cancel them completely,
any money owing would then have to be repaid or you could cancel
your spouse's authority to use the cards if you are the main card
holder. Another option is to reduce the spending limit.
I'm afraid
I can't pay my mortgage or rent
This is, of
course, an urgent issue. The first thing to do is contact your
mortgage lender or your landlord. If you do this by phone,
make sure that you take down the person's name and then write to
confirm what you have discussed. Always make sure that you make
a copy of anything you send and try to keep correspondence in an
orderly file. This will make matters easier. It is imperative that
you never ignore any correspondence. When the lender or landlord
is in possession of the details of your situation, he should be
more willing to try and sort out some temporary arrangement with
you. If he does not know the reason for non-payment and does not
receive any reply from you, he could assume that you are just unwilling
to pay the arrears and could then take legal action against you.
Take control
By contacting the agencies listed above
through our links in the Who can help section, you will be able
to get information and advice
on an extensive range of subjects. This is not to say that someone
will do the work for you; you must be prepared to do all the
paperwork and phoning. But once you make a start, you are well
on the way
to regaining some control in your life. Check out your bills,
make a budget, get advice and then make informed decisions. In
our Who
can help section, we will also link you to an online debt support
group. Sharing your concerns and taking the first step to deal
with debt can feel like a great weight has been lifted form you.
So, don't delay, make a start today.
"One joy dispels a hundred cares." Confucius
GOLDEN RULES
If you follow these golden
rules and you won't go far wrong.
- Don't ignore the problem. It won't go away and the longer you
leave it, the worse it gets.
- Don't borrow money to pay off your debts without thinking carefully.
Get advice first. This kind of borrowing could lead to you
losing your home.
- If you have lost your job, or you are off work
because of illness, check whether your payments are covered by
payment protection
insurance. Check you are claiming all the benefits you can.
- Use the pack from the National Debtline to work out your
personal budget. Make sure you show it or send it to your
creditors
when you tell them about your difficulties.
- Get in touch with your creditors straight away and explain
your difficulties. Go and see them, or phone or write
to them.
- Make sure you tackle your priority debts first - for
example, debts which could mean you losing your home
or having your
gas or electricity
cut off.
Use The UK Insolvency Helpline help work out a reasonable offer
to repay the money owed. Don't worry if it appears small if that
is really all you can afford. Creditors prefer you to pay a small
amount regularly than make an offer you can't afford.
If the first person you speak is unhelpful, ask to speak to somebody
more senior who may be able to agree to what you want.
Don't give up trying to reach an agreement even if creditors are
difficult.
Fill in the reply forms to court papers and let the court have
all the facts. This information will be used to decide if you owe
the money and what installments you should pay.
Always attend court hearings. Take a copy of your personal budget
with you. Don't think that going to the county court makes you
a criminal; it's not that kind of court. They will not send you
to prison and there is no jury.
Always keep copies of any letters or court forms you send or receive.
Remember
The UK Insolvency
Helpline is always there to help you with letters
and forms, and can explain what to do if you are asked to go
to court.
"The discipline of writing something down could be the first
step towards making it happen."
L. Joccaca
|
