Responsible for partners debt?

indiedog

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this anxiety is close to sending me to an early grave!!

My new partner has recently moved in with me. He has had a period of ill health and lost his job as a result

It has now come to light that he is in a lot of debt. House seems to be going through a repossession. Car loan not being paid and handed over to debt collectors. Credit cards etc etc. The amount owed will be increasing day by day.

I am trying to urge him to seek help but he is too ashamed. I will work on this

My questions are:

(1) Could I, in any way, be held responsible for this debt? It's all in his sole name but, because he now lives with me, is there any way that they could chase me for the ever increasing amounts he owes?

(2) When I am able to persuade him to seek help, is my income counted towards working out payments seeing as he now lives with me?

(3) Will his debt have any effect on my good credit rating seeing as he will have to give my address to his debtors once his house is repossessed?

Your invaluable advice would be so much appreciated

Not sure if this makes any difference but I live in Scotland - unsure if English/Scottish law differs

poorandindenial

Hi there

I will try to answer some of your questions...

If your partner's debt is ONLY in his name and you are not financially linked then you should not be held responsible for it

Your income doesn't have to be counted towards his statement of affairs if you have separate finances but you can't double count things, ie if you pay all the bills he shouldn't claim that he also pays them

His debt shouldn't make a difference to your credit rating so long as you continue to keep your finances completely seperate

you might want to pop onto www.nationaldebtline.co.uk where there is a section dedicated to Scotland so you can make sure you get the right info. They also have a helpline if you want to talk this through with them.

On another note, please reassure your bf that he has nothing to be worried about when he tries to get help, people won't be judgemental but please do make sure that he contacts only a fee free organisation (a list is here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help)

Perhaps you could get him to come and have a chat with us??

indiedog

Oh thank you so very much for taking the time to reply

By saying "as long as you are not financially linked", I think you mean that my name is not on his mortgage, loans or any other debt he has?

If so, the answer is most definitely no. These are all in his sole name

At the moment, I am financially supporting him on a day to day basis i.e. paying all the bills in my own rented property, buying food etc. However, I can't help him with paying his ever increasing debt.

I was so worried that my income would be counted when he comes to working out repayment or that I could be held responsible for his debt. Of course, I also dont want to destroy my good credit rating.

I would do nothing to deceive the process in terms of saying he pays the bills. I am quite happy to admit I have full responsibility for all household bills.

So, it would seem that my worries were unfounded. My income remains mine and my credit rating remains intact :T

As for seeking help - it's a nightmare. He is completely burying his head in the sand. Won't even open his mail. I can't even talk to him about it without it all ending in a fight....as tonight is testament to.

Thank you again - I may be able to sleep a little easier tonight

poorandindenial

You are welcome, it might be worth a call to National Debtline Scotland to talk to them about his situation anyway.

As for seeking help - it's a nightmare. He is completely burying his head in the sand. Won't even open his mail. I can't even talk to him about it without it all ending in a fight....as tonight is testament to.

^^^ classic debt behaviour (been there done that)

If his debts are growing and he is anti about sorting about them they will definitley not be shrinking any time soon (take it from one who has vast debts and knows) and it also doesn't get to the root of WHY he is stacking these debts up. It may be that this is a conversation for another day but, while it is great that you are supporting him, it would be better if you were supporting him while HE was making the effort to get control of his debts.

I am sorry if that sounds harsh but if he doesn't do something soon this could take its toll on your relationship in the long run.

Sleep well tonight and then come back tomorrow, lots of people on here have had to tackle their other halves about debts and may have some strategies they can share with you.

All the best for you and him

poorandindenial

Please DO NOT USE any company that you have to pay to use. Only use the ones in this link: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help of the others that are genuinely fee free or you will take much longer to pay off your debts

Ones that you have to pay do not generally get better responses than these. CCCS for example are funded by contributions from the credit industry (this DOES NOT mean they are on their side, they very much support the people that ask them for help) and as a result are often given a more favourable response as they are known to act responsibly

EDIT: this looks odd because it was responding to a post that was deleted