Basic Personal and Financial criteria for an IVA eligibility.

Who Is Eligible For an IVA? IVA eligibility depends on your personal and financial circumstances. In general terms, your personal debts should be over ﾣ15,000 and spread among 3 or more different creditors. You must be in a position to make reasonable monthly payments to your creditors. The level of your monthly contribution will depend on the amount of your debt and the surplus income available to you. You will usually need to be able to afford at least ﾣ250 a month.

Below are some simple criteria which are required for an IVA to have a good chance of being approved and completed successfully. They will give you an indication as to whether or not an IVA would be the most appropriate option for you. Alternatively, you could complete our online enquiry form to get free professional and impartial advice from a licensed Insolvency Practitioner.

1. You need to be a resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland IVAs are not available to those living in Scotland or outside of the UK. If you are resident in Scotland, the equivalent of an IVA is known as a Standard Trust Deed.

2. You need to be insolvent you will be in a position where you are unable to maintain the payments required to service your debts such as credit cards and loans. You will need to provide proof of your financial circumstances, such as copy payslips, recent statements/bills from your creditors, a valuation of your property (if applicable).

3. You need to have unsecured debts of ﾣ15,000 or more Your debts will total more than ﾣ15,000 on credit cards, store cards, loans, overdraft or hire purchase agreements.

4. Need to have stable income IVAs are suitable for people who have over borrowed, stretching themselves financially, and can no longer maintain their repayments, but have an income which will allow them to continue making more manageable payments to eventually free themselves from their debt problem.

In order to maintain your monthly payments due under the IVA agreement, you will need to be in employment and have a stable monthly income.

Which Debts Can Be Included?

Normally any unsecured debts can be included within an IVA. The following are examples of unsecured debts normally included as part of an IVA agreement:

ﾕ Business loans for which you are personally liable ﾕ Catalogues ﾕ Credit cards ﾕ Outstanding balances after repossession of your home or vehicle ﾕ Overdrafts ﾕ Personal loans ﾕ Store cards

Personal debts due to the HM Revenue & Customs can be included.

Which Debts Canﾒt Be Included?

Some debts cannot be included within an IVA. Secured debts, such as a vehicle HP or Mortgage arrears are excluded from the scope of an IVA. Other debts such as rent and fines (such as parking offences) will normally have to be paid, but provision for the repayment of these debts will be taken into consideration when calculating your monthly disposable income.

About The Author Patrick Barnett is an IVA advisor at Debt Help Line. If you require any help and advice with debts, or to find out more about Individual Voluntary Arrangement information, visit Debt Help Line website (www.debthelpline.com).