Advice Needed:Ex Husband Bankrupt but House in my name

mazc_2

Hi,

I am posting this on behalf of a friend and hoping someone can give me some advice. She is worried sick, not eating or sleeping and trying to look after 2 young kids.

I will give you as much info as I have at the mo.

In 2001 her and ex bought a house together with a £25k deposit which was her inheritance, received from her dad. Since day one the mortgage was paid from her bank account, not a joint account.
In Feb 2008 they split - tax credit company were made aware but they never filed for a divorce as she couldn't afford it.
In September 2008 she remortgaged and in the process his name was removed and she became the sole owner of the property. In this remortgage an extra £8k was added to pay off a car loan that the ex had defaulted on. This is documented in the remortgage.

Since their split he has paid the gas & electric and phone bill direct to the companies (rather than an amount into her bank account) which is about £150 a month. His direct debit has even bounced for some of those payments.

In January 2009 he was made bankrupt to the sum of about £16k. At the time the Official Receivers contacted her to confirm details about the property and she told them everyhing and they said in that case it would not be listed as an asset. The OR said that having gone through an income and expenditure that he could pay £150 pm which he agreed to, but that has never been enforced.
Friday my friend received a letter from the Insolvency Practitioners saying they know she is the sole owner of the property but she needs to buy out ex's equity or they will force a sale within 5 months (because already 7 months since made bankrupt). This is the first letter she ever had from them, very threatening, doesnt outline why she is liable to pay this amount and all the figures in the letter are wrong (mortgage amount, value of property etc)
She called them on a few occassions but the person she needed to speak to was not available.

The mortgage is about £92k, the value of the house is about £130k.
I have advised her to speak to CAB or CCCS before speaking to them again. She can not afford legal advice through a solicitor. She has 2 children, aged 7 & 1 & she is worried sick.

Can anyone please tell me where she stands or what she should do? I am not an expert and I have tried to look up as much as I can on the internet but it is limited.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you
Maz

maxmycardagain

She may want to object to that, as by buying him out she has already purchased his share, if he had any monies then the OR should be chasing him or imposing a BRO, has she checked that?

maxmycardagain

BTW, Im suprised the OR discussed this,,,confidentiality, etc...

The OR said that having gone through an income and expenditure that he could pay £150 pm which he agreed to, but that has never been enforced.

She needs to WRITE to the OR, request an appointment, taking all letters she has had on the matter, especialy the ones saying she owned the house 100%, etc. and send the letter to be signed for (costs a fiver)

She called them on a few occassions but the person she needed to speak to was not available.

mazc_2

The OR didn't discuss this with her, her ex husband told her.
She received the letter from the IP, should she still make an appointment with the OR?
Thanks for your replies

mazc_2

maxmycardagain wrote: »

She may want to object to that, as by buying him out she has already purchased his share, if he had any monies then the OR should be chasing him or imposing a BRO, has she checked that?

Would the BRO be the £150 the OR said he could afford to pay? I don't understand why that was never followed up. He is getting away scot free really if it is his ex wife and kids that have to lose their home and he has to pay nothing. He is still working and bringing in money. He doesnt pay any child maintenance either - another matter, I know!

skylight

What he may or may not pay is none of her business and she needs not worry about it - they cannot chase her for it.

The property though. She needs to get professional advice here - she cannot use the excuse that she cannot afford a solicitor; she could potentially lose her home if this is not cleared up. Was his name taken off the deeds as well as the mortgage? How much is the OR actually asking for? She should put everything in writing only to the ORs/IP, recorded as she needs a trail; phone calls are not good enough.

I would write back along the lines of the Ex had no equity in the property as he in no longer an owner (on the deeds), as not been since xx date and received xx as a sum at that point. Specify that the OR does not regard your property as his asset so they can go forth and multiply. Bear in mind that IPs are as bad as DCAs and threaten a lot and blow lots of hot air hoping people pay up without question based on fear. But its not worth the risk. Most solicitors provide a free half hour, she is going to need specialist advice on this one and has to find it somewhere.

peachyprice

It sounds as if one of his creditors has asked for an IP to be appointed on the strength of his 'interest' in the house. An IP is much more aggressive than the OR you friend dealt with before and gets paid based on what they recover.

An IP themselves cannot make your friend give up her house, it would have to go to court for them to get possession and the IP would have to prove that there was a case for taking her house, which there isn't.

It sounds to me like the IP is trying their luck. I suggest your friend writes back to them with the facts that were originally explained to the OR, stating that in your friends opinion her ex has no beneficial interest in the house as he has never paid a penny towards it, her inheritance was used as a deposit, and he's already had his £8k.

Do you know if when they bought the house the solicitor had the deeds to show her percentage of the house was greater? Also how much did they actually buy the house for? The BI would be calculated on the purchase price against the value today.

The £150 he should have been paying is an IPA, a BRO it a restriction you get if you have been naughty, disposing of assets, favoring creditors etc., He could get one for using his £8k to pay off one creditor rather than sharing it equally between all of them.

debtinfo

Hi as the others have said the first thing she needs to do is write to the trustee, set out why he does not have an interest as you have done above and ask the IP to set out with a thorough explanation, what section of the Insolvency Act he is relying upon and how he has calculated what she owes