Reasons for your BR

There are two schools of thought keep it brief or write an essay. it is up to you but the basics need to be the same. If yours is a complicated story its best to put a bit more info in that a more simpler one.

I have put in examples of what to include and suggestions for how to present the information, i have not used real examples. I am not saying i have all the answers i don't but i want to help and i have successfully helped other members tweak theirs.

Chronological order

The Official reciever will be trying to get a picture of how you ended up filing for bankruptcy it is easier to break down your paragraphs into chunks - new paragraph for each bit of new information such as a loan, or when a problem arose.It makes it easier to read and is a clear way of presenting information.

What essentials need to go in?

Dates - try and include the year you took out credit for each debt you have
creditor - include who the original credit was with
what it was spent on - if you used it for living costs say so, if it was to consolidate say so, dont lie
date when difficulties arose - and what you did - e.g 2001 lost job, took a new credit card.
advice - when you took advice

example:
In 2001 I took out a Ј7000 loan with Egg, I used the loan for house improvements and purchasing a car for work. I met all my payments until 2002.

example:
In 2001 I took out a Ј7000 loan with Egg, I used the loan for house improvements and purchasing a car for work. I met all my payments until 2002.
My relationship broke down and i was forced to find a new place to live. This incurred extra costs.

I applied for and was accepted for a new credit card with Mint, i used y credit card to meet my essential living costs.

example:
My marriage ended in 2007, until that time i had always managed my finances well, however my husband/wife managed our household finances i was unaware they had taken out a large loan against our house. I did sign the loan agreement but did not question my ex husband/wife about this. I regret this now but am faced with Ј25000 of which i am jointly liable.

Things to avoid
Try and keep it as clear and concise as you can, using lots of waffle and emotional language can get in the way of the facts. The official receiver is only really interested to see when, what and how.
It can be a fine balance between giving lots of details and straying into berating yourself with little facts. It will mean the OR is likely to spend longer trying to get a clear picture and can add to your stress as you try and remember details.

example

I took out loans and credit cards a few years ago, i was really stupid and just spent it all, i feel so ashamed and really stupid but its done now and I'm hoping it will just get sorted. my life is a mess, my wife left with the dog and my children need things so i have been spending more than i should. I have lots of credit cards and not really sure how much i owe, i think its quite a lot, my job doesn't pay very well and i always have more month than money so i borrow off my parents and I'm in a bit of a pickle really so im hoping bankruptcy will be a good start, i know i have stuck my head in the sand a bit sorry.

i hope that helps it is not really possible to write a template because everyone has individual circumstances.
Above all be honest, if you gambled then say so, its better to be upfront than be found out later.

example from mine (opening part mine did go on longer)
It is with regret I find myself in the position of petitioning for bankruptcy. I have Ј30,000 worth of debt with no ability to pay my creditors as I am now in receipt of benefits due to my ill health. Up until my debts became unmanageable, I had always been able to make payments on time and had an excellent credit rating.

Over the last three and half years my personal debt has become a major problem. My marriage ended in April 2006, despite our best efforts to remain together. My ex-husband left the marital home in July 2006 and I found the experience very difficult: I agreed to pay the majority of the mortgage as I was remaining there with my son. I also agreed to take out an 8000 loan to repay my ex-husband's parents the money they had lent us to buy our house.

Until I took this loan, I did not have excess personal debt beyond a modest overdraft and mortgage. I did not seek legal advice which, with hindsight, was a mistake.

I hope that helps, i am happy to help anyone with thier statement, Im not much good on all the technical stuff but words is my thing

2000
2001
2002
2002

and under each date think did anything significant happen - ie new loan, consolidation, credit card, major life event loss of job relationship. dont put it into a sentence yet.

once you have got the chronological order sorted it will help you compose it in to sentences and avoid the waffle. (well perhaps some of it )

First thing to remember is to tray and be as factual as possible. The OR's are not after a sob story as that has no impact on their decisions even if it feels good to get it of your chest.What they want to know is 3 things what issues you have had, how that effects you and how that has had an impact on either incurring credit or not being able to pay it.

So point one what have the issues been, how long have they persisted for and have they increased in severity over time.

Point two how it affects you. So for instance if you cant work because you broke your leg that is straight forward and probably has a beginning and end point when you could not work. Some other diseases are more difficult to pin down and may mean you taking lighter work or less hours progressively over time, a slow descent as it wear. Also the OR's are not doctors and don't know every condition so it may be worth a brief explanation in laymans terms as to exactly what it is.

point 3 how it affects your debt situation. Its important to tell the OR how it has affected your earning potential. so for instance you may have been off work for 6 months but if you have full sick pay it has not affected your earnings. it may be that you have only part sick pay so tell the OR how your take home pay has changed and when. It could be as in stress related conditions that you may not have been able to do a second job or have had to cut your hours down.

Finally there is the other side where the condition means that you have actively increased your debts and the OR understands this as well. For instance things like alcoholism, gambling addiction, bi polar disorder, even something like compulsive shopping are all reasons why debt may have increased and it is important to tell the OR in as factual a way as possible.

The last thing to say is that the OR has seen it all before so dont worry about telling them. What they want is an explanation of what has happened and its when there is a whole in the finances that cant be explained that they get worried

Hope that helps