DRO Beneficial interest

welshy9 · 10 June 2016 at 10:25PM

Hi all. Opinions/advice needed. Have a situation where I am hoping to apply for a DRO. However, I live with my husband who owns our property (married when bought it). He supplied the deposit, pays the mortgage from his account and has paid for any work needed. It is in my husbands name as he had the deposit and me being on the mortgage meant we could not obtain one - Broker arranged this for us. We have a daughter together. I have had different views from NAD and Stepchange. NAD stated they would proceed with the application but could not as they were not taking on any applications due to a backlog. StepChange said they would not submit the application due to their being a beneficial interest to me even though I do not own it and therefore it would been as my asset. I have also received information from the Insolvency Service who were puzzled as to why I wasn't on the mortgage (we wouldn't have got one if I was) and stated it was up to each individual intermediary.

Does anyone have any experience of this?

Debt in my name only £7404. My husband and I have separate accounts. I pay majority of bills and he pays the mortgage and council tax.

Thank you in advance

wba31 · 11 June 2016 at 9:00PM

I had a case similar to yours where I was advised that in matrimonial law, due to you being married you have a interest in the property. I think it's based on the fact that should anything happen to a couple in your position, the non-named party may claim in a divorce that they are entitled to a share of any equity.

If the house is in negative equity the beneficial interest does not matter as there is no asset.

debt_doctor · 12 June 2016 at 3:18PM

It would only matter if you have an ESTABLISHED beneficial interest in a property. Such a thing (if you do not own the property) can only be established by a solicitor / court.
The fact that you live with someone who owns a property does not matter in a DRO unless your interest has been established.
DD

welshy9 · 12 June 2016 at 5:07PM

Thank you both. I will need to find an agency who can see my situation and not feel their is beneficial interest. I feel that if I was to divorce in the year of the DRO I may have acquire an asset but feel a bit helpless at the thought the DRO is not possible due to a theoretical asset that my husband will either need to die or us to divorce for it to be realised, if at all.

Is it the same if children are already named in a will before a parent dies? Is that seen as an asset? Or is it totally different?

Do you know of any other charities that can act as an intermediary?

Thanks again for your help.

debt_doctor · 12 June 2016 at 5:21PM

Any intermediary should process your DRO unless you have an established beneficial interest. This was confirmed in the DRO Intermediary Guidance.
Citizens Advice process most DRO's so you might want to try there
DD

DorisTrousers · 13 June 2016 at 12:07PM

Divorce law and Insolvency law are quite different.

SC have a policy of not proposing a DRO under these circumstances, and you can understand why. However, if you were to go bankrupt for example, it is very unlikely that the OR would view you as having a beneficial interest. A high profile recent (ish) example of that is the partner of Martin Freeman, an actress whose name escapes me, went bankrupt despite them living in a house, in his name only I am led to believe, worth nigh on a million.

I can only agree with DD inasmuch as you should speak to other organisations, but be aware that the DRO Unit do like to be notified of these issues at, or before, time of DRO submission. I have never had one rejected on those grounds though.

DRO Beneficial interest

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