Don't be mistaken; an IVA is a serious undertaking. Not only does it tie you down to a set monthly payment for five years, but it brings the risk of bankruptcy if you can't keep up the payments. Before you commit to your Individual Voluntary Arrangement, you and your insolvency adviser must be sure that you have the income and the will to make those payments without fail.

An IVA is my only option

If you are insolvent because of serious personal debt and you want to avoid bankruptcy at all costs, an IVA may be your best option. You might have already spent a lot of time researching your options, reading internet and press articles and talking to friends and family, but in the end, the final call is yours. In order for the Individual Voluntary Arrangement to work properly for you, you must be sure that you can make the monthly payments, and that there is no other or better option available to you. It may help to talk to an insolvency specialist before you make up your mind.

I'm ready to commit

If you've decided that an IVA is the best way forward for you, the next step is to start making the arrangements. Your IVA must be arranged by a specialist, who knows the procedure and can contact your creditors on your behalf. You must be prepared to sit down with your adviser and look at your finances closely. This will help you both to see how much money you can afford to pay out each month, and how important it is that you can maintain a regular income during the period of your IVA. You must also provide details of all your creditors so that your adviser can notify them that you wish to pursue an IVA solution. Don't forget that there is always a chance that your creditors will not accept this proposal. Creditors are becoming increasingly strict about who they accept as far as IVAs are concerned, and it is up to you and your adviser to convince them that they are more likely to receive the money they are owed this way than by any other method.

Varden Nuttall has been established for over 15 years and is dedicated to helping people in financial difficulty find an insolvency solution through an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). Employing 90 people, including trained and skilled IVA administrators, we are one of the largest IVA companies in the UK and handle over 3% of all IVA applications. To find out more about the company, or to make an appointment to talk about putting an IVA in place, call us today on 0800 031 9802 or fill in our online enquiry form.