Money problems will only get worse if you don’t deal with them, and this may affect your child’s welfare. If you have debts in the other parent’s name or in joint names, get advice about whether you are legally responsible for them.
Are you in debt?
Here are the signs that you may have debt problems
- You regularly exceed your bank overdraft limit.
- You take cash advances on your credit card.
- Your credit cards are at their limit, or over it.
- You can only manage minimum repayments on your credit card bills.
- You regularly use some form of credit to pay for household bills.
And here are some debt emergencies:
- Bailiffs (or sheriff officers in Scotland) are about to visit you, or they have called already.
- You have received a notice of eviction.
- You have received court papers or a date for a court hearing.
- You risk having your gas or electricity cut off.
If you have a debt problem the first step is to admit it to yourself, then you can get help to deal with your debts.
Who can help?
Many lenders will do their best to agree a repayment plan, especially if you contact them before your debts build up. You can also get help from specialist debt counsellors such as those in our list of useful organisations. Debt management companies could help too but they will charge you, so ask about this first.
