If you are preparing to declare yourself bankrupt the process can seem less intimidating if you know what to expect. We consider what will happen when you meet with the official receiver.
Once you have been declared bankrupt at the Court the next stage of the process is a meeting with the Official Receiver (OR).
The OR is very important as it is they who will decide how long your bankruptcy will last and what will happen to any assets such as your house and car and whether you will be expected to make any monthly payment towards your debts.
Your meeting with the official receiver will normally not take place on the same day as you are declared bankrupt. The Court will usually give you the details of the OR's office and ask you to contact them and make an appointment.
Telephone Meeting
Your meeting with the official receiver will typically take place on the telephone. You will not be expected to travel to visit the OR in person unless you specifically want to do so.
You may speak to the OR themselves or a member of their office staff.
The primary objective of the OR will be to go through the statement of affairs document that you submitted to the court to make sure they understand everything you have written.
You should therefore make sure you have a copy of your document to hand when you have your meeting.
The OR will form a large part of their decision about how you will be treated based on the info in your statement of affairs.
This is why it is so important to complete this document correctly before you submit it to the court on the day of your bankruptcy.
Deciding on your assets and monthly payment order
It is the official receiver's job to decide what will happen to any of your assets and whether you should make a monthly payment towards your debts.
If you are a home owner it is particularly important to discuss this with the official receiver so that you understand their intentions towards your property.
If you believe that there is little or no equity in the property or it is in negative equity and you want to make an offer to the OR to buy back the title of the home immediately you should discuss this with the OR at the meeting.
If you believe that your income or expenditure have changed since you were declared bankrupt at court or there are any errors in the information you provided, it is vital that you inform the OR at the meeting.
They will decide whether you should make payments towards your debts for the next three years based on what you have written in your statement of affairs and your discussion with them so it is really important to make sure that the information they have is correct.
You can ask questions too
Another important thing about your meeting with the official receiver is that it is your opportunity to ask any questions you have.
Don't be scared to ask anything. Generally speaking the OR will be very approachable and easy to speak to.
You can also tell the OR about any creditors who are still being particularly unhelpful and continuing to collect money from you. The OR will write to all of your creditors in due course but they can contact creditors specifically to instruct them to stop contacting you directly.
Do not put the phone down at the end of the meeting if you have any unanswered questions.
However if later on you do think of anything else that you forgot to ask, you should feel free to call the OR at any time and ask more questions or give further information if you need to.
The golden rule is if you are worried about something even if it seems insignificant of a bit silly, pick up the phone and ask. The OR will be happy to help you.
Cooperate with the official receiver
The official receiver and their staff are generally very friendly as long as you cooperate fully with them.
The decision about how long your bankruptcy will last ultimately rests with the OR. Normally this will be 12 months however if you are uncooperative the OR could extend the term of your bankruptcy using a bankruptcy restriction undertaking (BRU).
It is the OR's job to ensure that you return as much as you can to your creditors. As such, if in their view you can afford to make a monthly payment towards your debt, they will ask you to do so.
In the same way, if you have a car which is worth more than £2000 you may well be asked to downgrade or sell the vehicle all together if you do not need it.
This is why it is so important to complete your bankruptcy statement of affairs document correctly and understand in advance all of the implications of the information you provide.
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