Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

Personal insolvency solutions for individuals - Understanding an IVA

An Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) is a legally binding agreement between debtors and creditors. It allows debtors to reorganise their financial affairs to the satisfaction of all parties – as well as relieving them of the stress that such financial difficulties can cause.

The IVA procedure was introduced by the Government in 1986 as an alternative to bankruptcy and has become a fairly common process for people across the UK looking to end escalating debts and begin steps towards a debt-free future.
Effectively an IVA freezes interest accruing on debts and allows debtors to put a proposal to creditors so they can repay their debt (or a percentage of the debt) over a given period of time. As part of this process we undertake a free review of the debtors financial affairs - and if we feel that an IVA is the right procedure for the individual then we will, notify creditors on their behalf prior to entering into the IVA.

With an IVA there is no minimum dividend, no maximum dividend and no maximum duration – it’s very much down to your individual circumstances. We’re committed to giving you the best advice and we’ll guide you on formulating a proposal that maximises the return to your creditors, whilst making sure that the terms are both reasonable and achievable. Getting this balance right is crucial and you can be confident that we’ll help you make the right decisions – after all, we’ve been advising people for over 25 years on what makes a good Individual Voluntary Arrangement.

Under the law, you must prepare your proposal to creditors with the assistance of a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, known as a ‘Nominee’. We have fully qualified Insolvency Practitioners who specialise in personal insolvency, and we can assist you to complete the proposal to your creditors. We’ll also ensure that it maximises the return to your creditors within reasonable, realistic and achievable terms.

You must make a full disclosure to your Nominee of all your assets and liabilities - and the proposal should ensure that your creditors will measurably benefit from the arrangement, receiving a higher return than if you became bankrupt. The proposal is confidential and you will always remain in control of your assets.

It’s worth bearing in mind that you can enter into an IVA even if you’re already bankrupt or have been presented with a bankruptcy petition – and if you’re self-employed and working in a viable business, you can continue to trade.

Complaints

We hope that you will be satisfied with the service that we provide, but we recognise that there may be occasions where you will not be satisfied with the way in which the matter has been dealt with. In those circumstances please refer to our Complaints Procedure.