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Bankruptcy and IVAs `have gotten easier`

23/07/2007

It has become simpler to both declare bankruptcy and take out an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) in the UK, an expert has claimed.

Paul White, a consultant for Belgravia Insurance Consultants, said that declaring oneself bankrupt "has certainly got a lot easier and there`s less stigma attached".

Additionally, he commented that the increase in IVAs has resulted in a more streamlined process, which is often no longer carried out face-to-face.

"There is more of this remote advice going on, so cases like these are being treated more casually," he said.

Mr White claimed that these changing attitudes may mean that the UK is moving towards an approach to bankruptcy more similar to that of the US, where people "give you another try" after debt problems.

Bankruptcy laws changed in April 2004, making the process easier and the duration times shorter.

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