The Insolvency Service paperwork

A hectic weekend, but that's family life for you. After work on Monday I finally managed to take a look at the paperwork sent out by the Insolvency Service, and it seems pretty simple. My phone interview is on Thursday morning and I need to make sure they have the forms back with them by Wednesday. Not sure I'll trust the post - the Insolvency Service offices aren't that far away from where I work so hopefully I'll drop it in by hand on Wednesday morning.

So what have they sent me? Firstly, a few guides (I think I've also read these online on the Insolvency website ( http://www.insolvency.gov.uk - a useful source of information):

• Guide to bankruptcy;
• What will happen to my home;
• What will happen to my bank account.

Nothing startling in any of these, thank goodness. Next I've got a few things to sign and send back. The contents of the pack were as follows:

• A letter outlining what I need to sign and send back, it also tells me about the phone interview;
• Form NTB2 - this basically means that they have my signature on a piece of paperwork that outlines the responsibilities of an undischarged bankrupt. Scary wording but no surprises (two copies, one of which I keep);
• Form TNIDIS - which gives my permission for the Official Receiver to request information from the Inland Revenue and the Department for Work and Pensions;
• Form NORD1 (actually I don't need to send this back - presumably it's here for reference) - which looks a bit like the TNIDIS form but for people I owe (owed, still find that difficult to remember) money to;
• Form DPADA - which also looks a bit like the TNIDIS form but for people I owed - and I sign this one and send it back.
• An ethnic monitoring form
• A comments and suggestions card;
• Finally, it also contained a handy map to get me to the Insolvency Service offices - usefully many of its directions actually refer to pubs and bars - handy for the newly bankrupted, I thought!

In a separate letter I have been given the chance of getting any beneficial interest in my house transferred back to me (as was first mentioned to me on the phone last week). I'm going to say that I want to buy this back but right now don't have a clue how I can raise the money to do this. Not only do I have to pay their solicitors fees (over £400) but I need to provide a current valuation - which will cost what? Around £300 for a valuation? Yet more money I don't have - I'm bankrupt for God's sake! It's a bit ironic, or what? Another problem I currently have is that I still need to finish raising the money for my wife to go bankrupt (but that's another story).

So, if you are reading this and you are not yet bankrupt - hide away your last few grand! You will need it!

On the good news side of things for today I received the details of my new Co-operative Cashminder account. Now I can give the sort code and bank account number to my work's payroll office and then sort out my direct debits. Just a shame I've got bugger-all money in there right now!