Welcome to the forum ChrisH1984.

I can understand with all of this happening why you'd like to have a plan in place.

If you're going to have to cover all of the household bills and expenses, will there realistically be much left over to be paid into a debt solution?

Hi, thanks for the quick response.

Well I figured I could maybe re-organise some of my non-essential bills e.g tv package, broadband etc to free up a bit of money. To be honest at the moment I'm paying roughly £450-500 per month on all the above debts so if I could cut that down it would make a big difference to our household.

Just a bit worried about making the decision to enter into a trust deed but I can't see my situation improving at the moment.

Hi ChrisH1984,

It's a good thing that you have started to research your options to deal with the future changes in the household finances.

A Trust Deed is certainly one or the options available to you. This will depend on how much you could afford to pay per month. An expert advisor will need to work through a very thorough budget to see what you can afford to pay per month. It's important that you don't under estimate your household bills as we want to ensure you can afford to live and cover all bills.

by doing a review of your budget this will then determine your payment per month and what options you have such as a Trust Deed,Sequestration or a Debt Arrangement Scheme.

Everyone feels nervous about taking the first step and the actually entering into the Trust Deed. Sitting down with an expert to discuss everything either in their office or your home will help put your mind at ease. If set up correctly then a Trust Deed is very straight forward.

Have a browse on the forum and read what other people have said about entering into a Trust Deed. This might help you decide.

The positive thing in all of this is that you have solutions to deal with your debts and you could be debt free in 48 months.

Hi David, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

I have a few concerns about my situation though, does it matter if some debts are relatively new? I transferred from my Barclaycard to my MBNA only this month on a 0% and I'm worried that they might not be too impressed if I did go for a trust deed so soon after being accepted. Could this cause a problem? I only pay the minimum payment as its all I can afford but even this will stretch my finances.

Also would my partners earnings be taken into account? Being self-employed they are about to dr#8203;op hugely but if they were to go up would I need to notify someone of this?

Thanks in advance (again).

Hi ChrisH1984,

Your welcome.

I can understand why you would be worried about balance transferring but it's not something you need to worry about. A lot of people balance transfer debts and reach a point when they can't do it anymore and then have to enter a Trust Deed.

When it comes to creditors accepting a Trust Deed we work to a set criteria. This is generally an acceptable income and expenditure (not over spending), a suitable payment per month and a minimum return to creditors.

It's easier to look at the whole household income and expenditure when calculating a payment. This doesn't mean that your partner would be at risk, it just means we have a good indication of the household finances. Some creditors expect a joint income and expenditure when considering the proposal. This is to ensure that for example your partner earned £3,000 per month but you paid the bills and therefore could only afford a small payment.

Also, when it comes to the income and expenditure we would work out who earned what, who paid what bills and then left over that would be split between you both. For example if you earned 70% of the household income then after all the bills are paid you would be entitled to 70% of the surplus income which could then be considered for your monthly payment.

Any change in your financial circumstances you would need to notify the Trustee of but any change in your partners you dont. Your finances on a Trust Deed are reviewed on an annual basis. It's all about striking a fair balance.

This is where a good knowledgable advisor is key as they will be able to work through all of this wth you. Kevin or I the two experts on here would be happy to run thorough this with you.

It sounds a lot but actually all of this can be done in the space of a 15-20 minute phone call with an advisor.

Thanks again David this helps a lot.

Will definitely get in touch with someone and see what they can advise.

That's the best way forward.

We always recommend speaking with a couple of advisors to discuss your options as somethings can vary slightly from firm to firm.

Let us know how you get on and if you have any further questions once you speak with someone.

Are your partner's debts quite high too then, Chris? If she is having to pay debts and therefore cannot afford to contribute to the household bills, then it might be worth reviewing her situation alongside yours. By doing this you may find you open up your options further.