Taking the plunge!

So the decision was made.

Looking online it became clear that the option to do the forms online was gone, all forms have to be written out by hand from a pack given to you by a locally appointed court, usually the County Court, I looked online and very quickly found mine.

That night on the way back from work I called into the local County Court and feeling about an inch tall, enquired about Insolvency.  The lady behind the counter smiled and handed me a pack. 'Fill this in and give us a call when your ready for an appointment. There's also a list of the costs involved.' Costs? I knew nothing of costs so asked how much it would cost, 'Well it's just gone up so all in all it's going to cost you £700.'

£700! To make myself bankrupt! I didnt have £100, let alone £700. I managed to ask about lawyers and solicitors and the like. did I need one, how much would they cost etc, 'You don't need a lawyer or solicitor, you can do it all yourself. Have you had some advice?' I replied that yes, I had been advised by a few organisations and others about my options.

I headed home, my head spinning, not only with the thought of actually doing this, but also about how I was going to get £700 together in order to do it.

Arriving home I had a quick look around, I had lots of stuff in the house I'd aquired over the years that I didnt use anymore, surely that was worth something? I sat and talked with my wife, explaining what I had planned and how it would affect our lives. As usual, she was just concerned about us and the baby, as long as we were ok and could eat she would go with what I thought was best for us all.

The next week was a blur of photographing and doing Ebay adverts for all the old kit I had aquired, a gaget here, a whatnot there! Soon the items were on sale and I sat back to see what happened.

During my wait I started to go over the forms I had been given, A Statement of Affairs Debtors Petition (form 6.28), a Debtors Bankruptcy Petition (form 6.27) and a Statement of Affairs Form. as well as this there was a 'Guide to Bankruptcy' from The Insolvency Service, Guidance Notes on filling the Statement of Affiars form and a Form B50.10 Bankruptcy Petition- Guidance Notes (what you should and shouldnt do if the court does not hear your petition there and then). As well as these official forms was a slip of paper detailing the costs, £125 Court Costs and £575 Administrators fees, totalling £700.

All the forms were very detailed and looking through it was obvious it was going to take time and effort, as well as finding all my paperwork for each debt, to fill them in correctly. I decided to photocopy the forms so I could do a dry run and make sure I got it all right before filling in the originals.The sheer enormity of what I was planning began to hit home and I wobbled, surely there was another way without doing this, another option. But I knew deep down this was my only way of sorting my life and my families life out, no matter what happened or how embarrassed or humiliated I was going to feel. There were serious concerns, what about the flat i had a mortgage for with an ex? I didnt pay anything towards the place, haven't done in over 4 years. I knew it was in negative equity and thought this must surely be a help to it not being taken but I was worried. I also had a car that I needed for work and I was concerned about losing that as well, how would I get to and from work if it was taken.

Taking a deep breath I decided it needed to happen, no matter what.

By now all the Ebay items were sold, I had done ok on a few and well on a couple so there was just over £800 due to land in our account in a few days, enough to pay for the insolvency.

I decided that the following Sunday was going to be the day I filled in the paperwork and that on the Monday following I would make an appointment.

A curious sense came over me, a calm feeling I hadnt had for many years and I realised it was because I was taking action. It didnt matter the action I was taking was about as drastic as it could be, the mere fact I was doing something at least seemed to put me at ease for a short while.Then my mobile started ringing with one of the debt collection companies wanting to know why I had missed another payment and the feeling vanished and I realised I was a long way from being sorted, a very long way indeed.