Question of the week: If I’m in debt, can the lender take my partner’s assets?

If I’m in debt, can the lender take my partner’s house or assets?

Sadly this question is common, as some nasty debt collectors try it. Nothing is simple, but the basic rule is nobody is liable for anyone else's debts, unless they signed the credit agreement. It makes no difference whether or not you’re married.


This gets more complex if the assets are in joint names, such as joint bank or savings accounts; in this case the lender can apply to take these. If the debt is secured on a property held in joint names, they may be able to force you to sell the house to release your share of the equity.

If you went bankrupt, they could also take a share of your partner’s property if they proved you had a ‘beneficial interest’ in it, meaning you must have contributed towards the mortgage, home improvements, or day-to-day expenses.


If you'd like to discuss this click reply below.


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Comments

  • MSE_Jenny wrote: »
    Nothing is simple, but the basic rule is nobody is liable for anyone else's debts
    One exception is council tax - I recently shared a flat with someone who did not pay any of their share of the council tax (bill and tenancy agreement was in both our names) and the council says I have to pay the full amount (ie: double my share) as well as any extra charges/ fees. So the honest person who paid their share of the council tax has to pay more than double, while the dishonest person who paid nothing gets away with it. :mad:
    "The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
    best of everything; they just make the best
    of everything that comes along their way."
    -- Author Unknown --
  • I've just vented my wrath about this but for some reason my log-in hadn't registered, so I don't think my post will appear. Sorry if it does, and you read this twice.
    People should pay their debts for goodness sake. Someone has to pay, and for everyone who won't, or doesn't, the rest of us have to contribute. It just makes things harder for the rest of us, who either struggle to honour our obligations or do without in the first place, because of these dodgers. I sympathise in cases of genuine hardship, but too often it's a ploy adopted by people wanting to hang on to assets they haven't any right to. I am fed up of people dodging their responsibility by transferring assets to their partner before declaring an inability to pay their debts. The debt-dodgers, and their partners, often continue afterwards to enjoy a standard of living the rest of us can't afford.
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