Free Debt & IVA Advice at I-V-A.org
We are an information resource to help you through the IVA process.
IVA's are Individual Voluntary Arrangements. They are Government
Backed and aim to help you escape debt without going bankrupt.

We have relevant sections on Frequently Asked Questions,
authorised bodies to help you through debt, and advice sections to
answer all your questions to make us your one stop IVA Help and
Resource Centre.
All advice and help on this site regarding Debt and IVA'S is Free!

What is an IVA?
An  IVA is a legally binding arrangement between an individual and 
their creditors that forms part of the 1986 Insolvency Act. 
It is for people who can no longer afford to make their monthly 
repayments to their creditors in full, but can afford to make a 
reasonable offer. 
It has to be supervised by a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, 
the purpose of which is to enable an individual, sole trader or 
Partner ("the Debtor") to reach a compromise with his creditors 
and avoid the consequences of  bankruptcy. 
The compromise should offer a larger repayment towards the creditor’s
debt than could otherwise be expected were the Debtor to be made bankrupt. 
This is often facilitated by the Debtor making contributions to the 
arrangement from his income over a designated period or from a third 
party contribution or other source that would not ordinarily be available 
to a Trustee in Bankruptcy.


How do i get an IVA?
The Insolvency Practitioner will initially look at your assets and income 
and work out how much you can truly afford to pay as a lump sum or in monthly 
payments. 
At this stage it is important that you are honest about your financial 
circumstances. 

The specialist will then put together a proposal to present to your creditors 
and you will be asked to sign the proposal effectively saying that this is the 
most amount of money you can pay each month. 
A good Insolvency practioner will also discuss other options available to you
e.g. bankruptcy and make sure that an IVA is indeed the best route to take.

If after having read through all the legal and financial requirements, 
an IVA is the best option then the IP will apply to the county court for an 
Interim Order. 
The Interim Order will stop your creditors from starting any bankruptcy 
proceedings and prevent them from taking out any other action against you.

It is possible to take out an IVA without an Interim Order and of course this 
will help reduce costs. 
But the major, and real, drawback is that the creditors can take out 
additional court actions against you to claim back what is owed to them.

After the Interim Order is requested the next step is for the insolvency 
practitioner to contact your creditors with the payment proposal. 
They will then be asked to vote on this at a creditors meeting and this where 
an IVA could fail at the first hurdle. 
In order for the IVA to start at least 75% of your creditors 'by value of the 
amount owed' must vote for the IVA to go ahead. 
It then becomes a binding agreement and those creditors who did not agree 
have no choice but to take on the payments laid down in the proposal.

The 'by value' is the amount from which is owed to the biggest creditor. 
So if one of the creditors is owed the most money does not want the IVA to 
go ahead then all the other creditors have no option.

If all the creditors agree to the proposal then the IVA is started immediately 
and all the interest payments are frozen. 
An added advantage is that the creditors are not allowed to contact you 
about the debt. This will have to be done through the Insolvency 
Practitioner

And once you make all the payments in the proposal, which normally takes 
5 years, the remaining debt is written off and you will be debt free.

An IVA is not suitable for everyone but if you do take one out you  have to 
agree you continue to make payments as laid down by the agreed proposal. 
If at any stage you cannot make payments you have to contact your debt 
specialist and explain. Your representative can then advise further.