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Last updated: 14/11/2023 | Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

Individual voluntary arrangements - your insolvency practitioner

To set up an Individual Voluntary Arrangement you have to get in touch with an insolvency practitioner. An insolvency practitioner is a qualified lawyer or accountant who specialises in managing IVAs. You will need to arrange a meeting with them in order to take the first steps towards setting up your arrangement. This guide will tell you exactly what documents you need to prepare and take with you to your first meeting with this legal specialist.

In This Guide:

Documents to take with you

The first time that you get in touch with an insolvency practitioner, it is highly likely that they will tell you exactly what documents to prepare and bring with you to the first consultation.

Generally speaking, they will want you to bring:

  • Proof of earnings e.g. statements from your bank, pay cheques etc.
  • Proof of your savings e.g. statements from your savings accounts
  • Data about your spending on your house e.g.
  • Information about all the assets you own along with a valuation of each, this includes cars or properties.
  • Data about any loans that you currently have outstanding, including information about the lenders and the value of each loan.
  • A plan of your finances that lays out your expenditures and incomes, including information about disposable income that can go towards paying for your IVA.

It is of the utmost importance that you have all of the information that your insolvency practitioner asks you to bring with you. This is because they need to make an informed judgement on whether or not an IVA is suitable to your situation.

Be honest with your insolvency practitioner

It is vital that you are completely open with your insolvency practitioner about your financial situation as it will allow them to help you to the best of their ability and will make everybody's life easier in the long run. If you fail to be truthful with them, they may set you up with an IVA that is inappropriate to your needs. This could result in you being unable to afford the Individual Voluntary Arrangement that they organise for you. In the worst case scenario you could end up failing to make your repayments and your IVA collapsing. This could possibly lead to you having to declare bankruptcy or at the very least make your debt issues even worse.

It is also highly illegal to lie to your insolvency practitioner or even to withhold information from them. If you are caught doing this you could face some serious consequences; ranging from a fine to a custodial sentence.