How an IVA Can Affect Your Partner and Household

Are you thinking about getting an IVA? Are you worried that it may affect your partner? You’ve found the right place to get answers. We’re here to help you understand the process and how it may impact your loved one.

Each month, more than 170,000 people visit us for guidance on debt solutions. We know that the IVA process can seem confusing and that you may be worried about paying off your debt, but remember; you’re not alone.

In this guide, you’ll learn about:

• How an IVA works and how long it lasts.
• Whether an IVA could affect your partner.
• How your partner’s income might change your IVA payments.
• How an IVA could change your lifestyle.
• If it’s possible to get a joint IVA with your partner.

This guide explains the main effects on a partner. An adviser should assess joint liabilities and the whole household budget as well as your individual debts.

Don’t worry, here’s what to do! 

There are several debt solutions in the UK, choosing the right one for you could write off some of your unaffordable debt, but the wrong one may be expensive and drawn out. 

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Will It have An Impact? 

Possibly. There are definitely some ways through which an IVA could affect your partner but the ways in which it will affect them and the severity of these effects will depend entirely on your circumstances. So, let’s explore that: 

Do Contributions Need to be Made? 

An IVA is individual: marriage or living together does not by itself make a partner liable for your sole debts. However, a joint borrower or guarantor can remain liable, and the household budget affects what you can afford.

The budget should allow a fair, realistic share of essential household costs. Your partner’s income is relevant to that assessment, but it does not automatically become money the IVA can take.

Does It Hurt Credit Rating and History? 

An IVA is normally recorded on your credit file for six years from approval and can remain longer if it is still ongoing. It can make borrowing harder, but it is not an absolute ban on every form of credit.

Certain jobs, contracts and rental applications can be affected. Check the actual employment, professional or referencing requirements instead of assuming you cannot work or rent.

When it comes to the effect it can have on your partner’s credit history, it depends. 

If you have a financial association through joint borrowing or an appropriate joint account, lenders may consider information about your associate when assessing an application. Your IVA does not simply become an IVA entry in your partner’s name.

Where the financial link has genuinely ended, ask each credit reference agency about removing the association. A notice of disassociation does not remove an active joint liability.

The agency will assess the evidence and its criteria, including whether joint accounts or commitments remain.

A joint loan or mortgage generally requires separate attention before the link can be removed. Some agencies consider particular separation circumstances. See Experian’s financial-association guidance.

Will I Still be Able to Contribute towards Household Expenses? 

You can definitely still make contributions towards your household’s essential living expenses. 

When you’re first considering an IVA, your IP will sit down with you and make a complete plan by asking you about your debts, your income, your partner’s income and your household’s monthly expenditure. 

Your IP will take both you and your partner’s contributions towards essential living costs into account and make an IVA payment plan accordingly. 

The proposed payment should leave enough for your reasonable share of essential household expenses. Explain any costs that the budget misses before agreeing to it.

Is it Possible to get a Joint IVA? 

There is no single IVA in two people’s names. Some providers offer interlocking IVAs, with separate individual proposals coordinated around a household payment. Each person must understand their own obligations and suitability.

Of course, both of you would have to apply individually but both of you would make a proposal that would suggest to the creditors that your IVAs are interlocked. For more information on the detailed process, both you and your partner can seek debt advice from your respective IPs. They will inform you on whether interlocking IVAs would be the best way to take care of your debts or not and if they are, how would you need to go about it. 

Coordinating the proposals requires relevant household information. Ask what information will be shared and how consent, confidentiality and any safety concerns are handled; it does not create unrestricted access to every private conversation.

It’s important that you think this decision through with your partner before you both opt for it. Remember that there are many other debt solutions available in the UK as well.

I’d highly advise that you seek advice from a debt professional first before you decide to opt for interlocking IVAs because while they’re definitely possible, they can sometimes be confusing and hard to pull off. 

For debt advice, you can opt to contact an independent debt charity such as National Debtline or Stepchange.

They have professionals that will analyse your income, your expenditure and your debt in order to give you an accurate suggestion about which debt solution would be most suitable for you. 

Check the adviser’s appropriate authorisation or exemption and the insolvency practitioner’s licence. Advice should include the alternatives and all fees.

Does Income have an Effect on Payments? 

Your own income funds your contribution, but your partner’s income can affect the reasonable division of household expenditure. A joint budget is therefore often relevant even where only one person enters an IVA.

For instance, unequal incomes may justify unequal shares of essential bills. The assessment should reflect the actual household circumstances and support needs, rather than assuming every couple pays half.

If you support a partner with little or no income, explain that in the budget. Contributions should be sustainable, but an initial assessment cannot guarantee they will always remain affordable: request a review when circumstances change.