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1. Given the level of debts against you and the fact that there is more than one creditor, I would advise you to go bankrupt. This is the only way in which you will get out of the current impasse. The actual bankruptcy period will only be a year and you will be able to retain your half share in your house as well.
2. ULtimately, having personal repayment orders made by a judge will only cripple you into the future. Currently, you cannot afford to pay anything as you have no income. Ultimately, a judge can only make a repayment order in relation to any income you might have.
3. I would advise you to speak to a personal insolvency practitioner and assess the route into and out of bankruptcy. Essentially, these two personal guarantees have made it impossible to leave behind the failure of your business. So you need personal bankruptcy as well.
How would I retain the house in bankruptcy, that's the part that gives me sleepless nights?
4. Effectively, you have only a half share in the house, worth £40,000. However, there is provision in the bankruptcy rules that the debtor can retain his private residence in certain circumstances if no one wants to purchase it. Here you should speak with the insolvency practitioner about your situation. given that there are four children involved, it is likely that you will keep it, or else agree to a contribution over a further three years so you can keep the half share in the house.
OK:
should I declare myself bankrupt prior to the court cases reaching a conclusion or afterwards so that they are included?
How much will it cost me to declare myself bankrupt
What is the situation with company directorships, does the 1 year rule apply
what are the implications of bankruptcy outside of the normal credit issues, which are bad anyway
5. I would advise you to declare yourself bankrupt before the court cases reach a conclusion as if execution processes, such as sending the judgment to bailiffs start, then you could find your goods or car being taken. So go bankrupt before you have judgments being executed against you. It will probably cost about £5,000 to go bankrupt. You should agree this with the insolvency practitioner. Thirdly, you cannot act as a company director whilst declaring yourself bankrupt. So you will have to resign any directorships during bankruptcy. Finally, the main impact of bankruptcy is that you will have no credit card, nor will you be able to get things on hire or lease. But don't fear it. Nowadays it is a straightforward process.