Home Ownership & Bankruptcy

imnotalwaysright

Hi,
I post on this site regularly but under a different username as I don't want my OH to see what I want to write.

I've just discovered that his ex wife was declared bankrupt back in 200* & she isn't going to be discharged until 2009. I was a tad shocked because he was with her back in 200* & I assumed he would've known about it. Well, after speaking to him today, I find he did & apparently also went bankrupt with her but his only lasted * years (I'm shocked, he's never mentioned this before).

I've now got a million things running round in my head as you can imagine because although I understand it's a very touchy subject for most, I still can't understand why he's never mentioned it. So now I wonder what else he could be hiding! Anyway - I know very little about bankruptcy & don't know where to get advice from except here. (I'm sure there used to be a topic called Bankruptcy & Living With It - but I can't find it).

Here's what I'm thinking:
She works, full time. She gets child benefit, tax credit & £*** a month off my partner for child maintenance. As far as I know, the house she's in is not rented, it's mortgaged (could be wrong there). Last year my partner dropped the child maintenance from £*** to £*** because he was paying way over what CSA say you should pay & I'd lost my job so money was tight. She complains she now 'has to work' full time to make up the rest. As a bankrupt - how in God's name is she able to have this much money coming in & not declare it, as well as have (I think) a house with a mortgage plus a car owned outright??? I understand the maintenance is for the DD but every time she comes to stay with us, she's sent in ripped, worn out clothes that are quite shameful. Should this money grabbing woman not be declaring all income? And how does bankruptcy work with child benefit & tax credits?

I'd be grateful for any advice simply because I doubt for 1 second that my partner will discuss this, he did say he wasn't even aware she was still bankrupt.

Graham_Devon

Erm, just a thought, but if you dont want them to know what you write, you have gone into detail quite a bit and made it very unique? Might be worth watering it down a little!

Sorry, can't help any further!

imnotalwaysright

He doesn't read these type of posts, he just looks at my other username & sees what I post. But I will take out figures & a few other minor details!!!

1 other small thing:
On loan forms, when the question 'have you ever been declared bankrupt' is asked... how soon can you stop declaring it & does that start from the day you're discharged or the day bankruptcy was ordered?

Fifer

imnotalwaysright wrote: »

1 other small thing:
On loan forms, when the question 'have you ever been declared bankrupt' is asked... how soon can you stop declaring it & does that start from the day you're discharged or the day bankruptcy was ordered?

I'm not an expert on these matters, but I don't think someone who has been declared bankrupt could answer anything other than 'Yes' for the rest of their life, discharged or not.

imnotalwaysright

That's exactly what I thought. I'm guessing that if a loan form asked the same but had a timeline ie: 'in the last 5 years' then you didn't have to say yes but I wonder whether that timeline starts from the date the order was made or the date it finishes?

Glad

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]

Dez-Titute

Any ideas anyone.

Purplekylie22

If you believe that she might be lying, then it is legally I believe your responsability to report it to the OR. this could probabily be done by an annoymous letter stating the facts you believe are true that she might not be declaring. If she is declaring it all, then she shouldnt need to do much other than send some proof, if she is lying then it could cause her problems which most people would say is her own fault.

tigerfeet2006

By saying your DH was discharged are you saying that he was BR for 12 months and then discharged. With regard to the Ex. I suspect what you mean is she is paying an IPA, which is an agreement to pay a % to the the OR for 36 months. She will still be discharged after 12 months. You are still allowed a mortgage and a car when you are BR.

Dez-Titute

Thanx Tiger & Purp

peachyprice

As Tigerfeet said above, she will have been discharged 12 months after her BR date and now paying an IPA.

As for her income, she would have to have given a statement of affairs to the OR giving details of her income, and full outgoings. She will have been able to claim for a reasonable standard of living for her and her children, and would then have had to give the OR only a percentage of her surplus, min 50% if her surplus is £100, up to a max of 70% of her surplus. Child benefit will not have been included in the calculation for her surplus because it's solely for the children.

She is entitled to own a house, and will keep it if there is no equity in in, if there is equity she could have arranged for a friend or family member to buy this from the OR. She will be allowed to have a car if she needs this to get to work.

On loan forms you will always have to delare you have been bankrupt for the rest of your life if the question is asked, but that's not to say you will be declined a loan.

Bankruptcy is a complicated business and although it may seem to you that she's living the high life both she and your OH have made huge sacrifices to rid themselves of debt. There are a lot of myths surrounding bankruptcy, one of them being that a bankrupt is not allowed to own anything. Unless you have first hand experience it's not always easy to understand how it all works. But it is not something that strips you of everything and leaves you to lead a life of poverty, the whole point of it is to rid yourself of overwhelming debt and have a clean slate for a decent standard of living.

I hope this help you to understand more, any thing else you nedd to know, just ask.