Hi blossom36 and welcome to the forum,

A change of circumstances such as the loss of a job can really make it difficult to deal with your living expenses never mind having to manage debts.

A Trust Deed and Sequestration will take into account your property. If it's verified by carrying out a valuation and obtaining a redemption figure for your mortgage that you have no equity then your property would not be at risk by entering into a Trust Deed/Sequestration. The bank would not look to repossess as long as you maintained your mortgage payments and even although you have debt with them this still shouldn't cause a problem for your mortgage.

If you feel comfortable enough, can you give us an idea of how much debt you have in your own name and joint with our husband also an idea of how much money you would have left over per month after paying your bills (not including your debt payments).

Also, do you have any other assets?

Thanks for your reply David. That makes things clearer in regard to the house.

I think the outstanding debt is about £60,000. So it is substantial. We do not have any other assets. It is all credit card debt so although we have joint cards for some accounts I do not think they are classed as joint debts. I have more outstanding in my name than him. At the moment I have £300 per month left over from my salary once mortgage, council tax etc. has came off from my salary as I am currently funding mortgage payments etc. myself as he is not working but that will of course change once he starts his new job. I know this is all a bit vague and I know what we will need to seek advice asap but I wanted to wait until he starts his new job and has details of his new income before I speak to someone as if I seek advice at the moment it would only be my income that would be taken into account.

Hi blossom36.

You're right about the credit cards. They are normally in one persons name. There may be a secondary cardholder but the responsibility for repayment will be with the main cardholder.

How long is it until your husband will start his new job? It does sound as though you'll have more options to consider as and when this happens.

Hi TDA. Thanks for clarifying the credit card position. He will be starting his new job in 3 weeks. I thought it best to wait until after he had started before I seek advice so I will have his payslips etc.

Hi blossom36.

If you have a good idea of what his take home pay will be I'm not sure that there's any need to delay at least looking into things.

Of course it's up to you when and how you go about this though.

Hi blossom36

I think it is always wise to wait and see how things settle before doing anything. When his employment commences, it will give you a better indication of income and expenses.

In 20+ years, I've never known a mortgage comapny to repossess where there is an associated debt, so the Halifax won't be an issue.

Best to see how things progress and then look at options available and then decides what best suits.

Mark

Hi TDA, Thanks for your comments. I just didn't want to waste people's time making an appointment when I don't have any vouching etc. until he starts his job. I want things sorted out sooner rather than later and as I said we just want our lives back again so perhaps it would be better to speak to someone at the moment.

Thanks Mark. I note your comments re the Halifax that makes me feel a lot better. I know regardless of what his new salary is we can't carry on like this as the debt is unmanageable and we do need to find a solution that will work for us.

Hi Blossom36

There's nothing to stop you looking at options and getting advice on each just now. Just be wary of agreeing ( and certainly not signing) anything until you are in a better position to calculate income/expenditure.

The advice would at least give you a head start and then allow you to finalise surplus at a later date.

Mark

The positive thing is that you have solutions to your problems. All too often people don't realise that there are things such as a Trust Deed, DAS or Sequestration to help them try to deal with their debts.

When deciding what to do you want to sit down with an advisor and work through a very thorough income and expenditure to ensure that any payment you both have to pay is realistic and affordable. This will take into consideration all of your household expenditure and living costs.

There is no harm in speaking with an advisor to get an idea of what options you have and once you know what your husband's income is after he has had his first payslip you can decide which option you would like to proceed with.

Thanks Mark. I understand that if I entered a Trust Deed payments would be based on income/expenditure but I just wondered if it possible to say what sort of figure would be accepted as a monthly contribution for the level of debts we have? I would be hoping we could contribute £450 per month towards our debts.

Thanks David. I am going to speak to my husband tonight and discuss whether we will take advice at present or wait until we have all vouching etc.

Hi blossom36

It's a good point, however once we know the split of the debts, it is fairly easy to calculate the minimum creditors would accept to have the Trust Deed accepted, then you have at least a basis to work on.

Mark

Thanks for your advice everyone. You have been most helpful and I feel as if at long last I may be able to find a solution to get out of this mess.