E-insolvency Bankruptcy Infrormation Centre can be called on 0800 074 6918

The E-insolvency Bankruptcy Information Centre is available 24 hours aday to help people who are already bankrupt, are considering bankruptcy or are under the threat of bankruptcy.

Finding good information about bankruptcy can be very difficult. A lot of the sources of information simply do not know the procedures and practical alternatives such as an IVA. Please note that the Bankruptcty information team at E-insolvency are here to help.

Bankruptcy Information in the UK

Information about bankruptcy and its alternatives

Bankruptcy is a serious matter. If you are made bankrupt you will have to give up, with limited exceptions, any possessions of value and your interest in your home (the part of its value that you own). Bankruptcy will also impose certain restrictions on you and will almost certainly involve the closure of any business you run - though you can start to trade again, subject to restrictions. Therefore it may be advisable to look into alternatives such as an IVA or Debt Management

Information about how long your bankruptcy will last

A bankrupt may be discharged (freed from obligations under the bankruptcy order) after one year. If you have been declared bankrupt before, within the last 15 years, you will not be automatically discharged. You will only be able to apply to the Court for a discharge 5 years after the date of your current bankruptcy order; even then the Court may refuse or delay discharge.

Information about your home

The trustee will be interested in the beneficial interest in your property. This is your interest in the proceeds of sale of the property as opposed to the legal title to the property which is held by the owner. If you are the sole owner, the beneficial interest is the whole value of the property. If there are joint owners, the beneficial interest is usually an equal share of the value. (If there are any amounts owed on mortgages or other loans secured on the home, these will be repaid from any proceeds of the sale.)

Information about getting your bankruptcy cancelled (annulled)

You will revert to your pre-bankruptcy status. Disposals of your property by the Official Receiver and the trustee will remain valid and will not be reversed. Any other assets will be returned. You will be liable for any of your debts that have not been paid in the bankruptcy.

The following paragraphs explain what will happen to public records of your bankruptcy:

• The Insolvency Service’s Individual Insolvency Register - The register which can be searched by post, fax or in person at your local official receiver’s office, records all bankruptcies in England and Wales.
  
  If a bankruptcy order is cancelled because the debts have been paid or a voluntary arrangement has been approved, the record of the order will be removed from the register two years after the date of cancellation. If a bankruptcy order has been cancelled on the grounds that it ought not to have been made, or a voluntary arrangement has been revoked, the record will be removed from the register immediately.
  

Information about the process and timescale of a bankruptcy

A Court makes a bankruptcy order only after a bankruptcy petition has been presented. It is usually presented by:

• Yourself (Debtor's Petition); or
• Creditors who are owed at least £750 by you (Creditors' Petition)

A bankruptcy order can still be made even if you refuse to acknowledge or agree to the order. You should therefore try to co-operate fully once the bankruptcy proceedings have begun. If you dispute the creditors' claims you should try and reach a settlement with them before the bankruptcy order is made: trying to do so afterwards is difficult and expensive.

Call us on free phone 0800 074 6918 or fill in the contact form on the left hand side of this page.