joint debt?

homealone_2

my husband left me last month and besides leaving me he has also left me in £32,000 of debt, £24,000 of which is in my name alone. is there anything i can do? or am i just stuckk with it? i live on disability benefits and am in no position to get extra work to help with payments and carried out an SOA on here and am currently -£275 a month and that was after cutting out all the frivolous things like clothes, entertainment, presents etc

jenchin66

Bumping so someone can offer advise

fatbelly

Hi

Is this still your SoA? Or does it need modifying? Did you get HB/CTB?

Most of your debt is tax credit overpayment and I think you should investigate bankruptcy - see this Link.

You appear to have low income, 32k debt, rented accom and no car.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 386.24
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 962
Other income............................ 100
Total monthly income.................... 1448.24

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 520
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 58
Internet Services....................... 9
Groceries etc. ......................... 350
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
sky repair ............................. 8.25
mag subscription........................ 12
18185................................... 15
pc world................................ 7.99
halifax loan............................ 191.8
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1564.04

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 3000
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 3000

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
lloyds credit card.............5663.45...115.......7.9
marks and spencers.............600.......15........6.9
tax credit overpaymen..........16000.....30........0
Total unsecured debts..........22263.45..160.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,448.24
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,564.04
Available for debt repayments........... -115.8
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 160
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -275.8

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,000
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -22,263.45
Net Assets.............................. -19,263.45

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

======== Enter any other useful information below ========my husband left 3 weeks ago so now there is just me and 17 yr old son living at home. my daughter comes to stay for a couple of weeks every month or so. i am in process of applying for housing and council tax benefit

homealone_2

fatbelly wrote: »

Hi

Is this still your SoA? Or does it need modifying? Did you get HB/CTB?

Most of your debt is tax credit overpayment and I think you should investigate bankruptcy - see this Link.

You appear to have low income, 32k debt, rented accom and no car.

pretty much so, not heard from HB/CCT as for child tax credit am receiving it but wrongly so needs to contact them or will be having even more overpayments in error

dancingfairy

Technically you are responsible for the debts in your name and jointly responsible for the joint debts.
Depending on whether you are getting divorced - you may ???? be able to get your husband to take on some of the debts and get them into his name - if he is willing to admit that they were joint debts but were put in your name for convenience (or as you had a better credit record).
I think you may be able to persue him through the courts but it would undoubtably be a long,slow drawn out process and it would be difficult for you to prove that they were actually joint debts or his debts and it may not be worth your while in terms of trying to maintain a good relationship with your ex, and in terms of stress, hassle and of course legal costs.
I think your best bet is to get some help from one of the charities on this one - as you are on a low income you may also be entitled to community legal aid - again you would need to check this out.
In terms of what can you do about this debt there are obviously various options open to you including possibly a dmp or bankruptcy (I don't know enough about IVA's though - sorry).
There are however quite a large number of savings to be made based on your SOA and obviously depends on what your situation is with regards to work.
Hope that helps a llittle.
df

GeorgeUK

If the tax credit overpayment was in your name then i think you will be soley liable for that along with the debts that are soley in your name.

Have you tried sending a subject access request to the tax place? It's a bit of a long shot, but if they do have documentation showing that you informed them of your marriage, then you may not be liable for the debt.

An overpayment should not have to be paid back if it was the result of the Inland Revenue's mistake and the individual could reasonably have believed that the tax credits payments were correct.