Declaring bankruptcy

Declaring bankruptcy can be incredibly stressful, so if you want things to run smoothly you need to make sure you do things right.

You first need to find out exactly where your local 'County Court' is. This is where you'll be handing over all of your documentation to declare yourself bankrupt. You can get this information from the phone book or by getting in touch with the council. 

Once you've obtained your local County Court's details then you need to get in touch and ask them to send you out all the relevant documentation. They'll normally post this for free so all you have to do is fill it in and take it back in person.  If you don't want to wait then you can download all of these papers online from government websites.

You're going to have to pay a fee if you're declaring bankuptcy. This sounds slightly mad, but it covers the costs of the court. This fee is usually around £500 but you can confirm the exact amount when you make initial contact with your County Court. If you're claiming benefits you might well be entitled to a discount on this fee.

Once you've filled in all of your forms you can then head down to your County Court. If you want everything sorted in one day, you have to get their for when they open at 9.30am as there is a lot to go through. You'll first have to present your documents to the District Judge who will assess your claim for declaring bankruptcy. Once this has been approved you'll be moved on to the official receiver.

The Official Receiver will go through things in much greater detail and decide on a number of issues. For example, if you should make repayments to certain creditors, how long your bankruptcy should last and perhaps most importantly what will happen to your assets. 

When all of this has been decided you'll have been declared bankrupt and have a clear financial outlook. Even though declaring bankruptcy is by no means a pleasant process, it can be a tremendous burden lifted from your shoulders.

We've got many more resources on declaring bankruptcy and the possible alternatives. We can also divert you to some really useful services that could be of significant benefit.