UK Bankruptcy Law

Bankruptcy in England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Bankruptcy law offers debtors two routes. The first choice is one that debtors themselves opt for, and the second one is an option that the creditors can exercise. Debtors can file for a petition, called a debtor’s petition, at the London High Court. This gives relief from financial miseries. Creditors can file a creditor’s petition and this affords them an opportunity to recover any debts.

The Official Receiver or an Insolvency Practitioner manages the bankruptcy proceedings, though the IPO should be authorized by the relevant body’s Department of Trade and Industry.

Bankruptcy in Scotland

The UK has two main personal insolvency practices: one for England and Wales and there is another one for Scotland. England and Wales mostly have “bankruptcies”, and the remainder fall into Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs.

Scotland’s equivalents are Sequestrations, and their Trust Deeds offer much the same as an IVA.

Trust Deeds differ slightly from the English IVA and are only available to Scottish residents but the underlying principles are the same: interest and charges get frozen and unpaid debt is written off at the end of the agreement.

Harrington Brooks is the leader in debt management, and offers advice on secured and unsecured loans, IVAs, debt consolidation plans and remortgages.