In principle anyone who owes more than £750 to their unsecured creditors can declare themselves bankrupt. However bankruptcy is definitely more suited to some personal situations rather than others.

Bankruptcy is available for those living in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The process of going Bankrupt is different depending on whether you live in England & Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

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If you are renting and have few other personal assets, bankruptcy could well be the fastest way for you to become debt free. Even if you can afford to make payments towards your creditors each month, you will only have to do so for 3 years. This is compared to 5 years if you were to use an IVA and possibly far longer if you were thinking of using a Debt Management plan.

People are often worried about the publicity of bankruptcy and who will find out about it. However nowadays bankruptcy is a private solution and is treated in a similar way to an IVA. Your name is not published in the local newspaper. Your name and address is still recorded in the insolvency register which is accessible via the internet and remains on in the London Gazette archives. However these records are not publically advertised.

If you are a homeowner, you do have to be more careful before declaring bankruptcy. If there is little or no equity in your property then your home is unlikely to be at risk. However if you do have a considerable amount of equity then the property could ultimately be force sold.

There are a number of people who are prevented from choosing bankruptcy because they would be unable to continue in their current job role if they were bankrupt. Most commonly this can affect company directors. However it will also affect other professions such as solicitors, accountants and some who work in particular positions in financial services.

Other Debt Solutions might be suitable for you

Bankruptcy is not the only debt solution which might be suitable to resolve your debt problem. Before making your final decision to apply for Bankruptcy you should also consider the other available debt solution options. For more information please see: Personal Debt Solutions

Additional information

More information about the Bankruptcy solution is available in the left hand column. However only a brief overview is given here. For more details and advice please see one of our dedicated information websites:

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