Bankruptcy is something that is entered in to when a person cannot pay his or her debts. It means all the debts are written off. Sounds good right? Well it’s not that simple and there are many consequences. Individual Voluntary Arrangements were introduced under the Insolvency Act in 1986. They are considered an alternative form of bankruptcy but the consequences may not be as detrimental. They do, however, come with their own issues.

One of the biggest consequences of bankruptcy is the loss of control it brings. If you declare yourself bankrupt you will lose control of all of your assets. You will also be unable to get any credit over £250.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (or IVAs as they are known) are an alternative to bankruptcy. Unlike bankruptcy IVAs are not made public. The agreement is made privately between the person in debt and those that they owe. Also, a person who has entered into an IVA is able to keep their job if they head up a company. However if you do enter into an IVA then you will lose control of your finances in that you must follow a strict budget and you are unable to get credit.

Both bankruptcy and IVAs are serious financial commitments and neither should be entered into lightly. If you are in debt then you should contact a debt counselor. He or she will be able to tell you whether either an IVA or declaring yourself bankrupt are the right options for you but they should never be seen as the easy way out. However if they are the only options then they can be beneficial so should not be overlooked due to social stigma.

IVA’s (Individual Voluntary Arrangements), are an increasingly popular way for those with financial difficulties to solve their debt worries.