Does ex partner have to pay mortgage?

talison76

Hi
im asking on behalf of my cousin - her boyfriend of 8yrs has just left her for someone else....shes panicking about the mortgage etc they have a 7yr old son together. Does he have to pay the mortgage or not - at the moment he is point blank refusing .she dosent work and he runs a butchers shop....
any advice appreciated.
Alison.x

talison76

oh - the mortgage is in joint names....

puppy8910club

Yes & No. Its both parties that are responsible for paying the mortgage. Its down to them both to pay the full amount of mortgage owed. If they both fail to pay they will both have the same concenquences i.e repossed / debt / bankcrupt etc.

If the lady can afford to pay the full amount she should do so and seek if the bank will allow a re-mortgage on a single application if the other half agrees. This will then depend on her income and if the lender will agree...

Otherwise both have to pay / get repossseeed. Im not a mortgage advisor but my best efforts

Caz3121

guess there are 2 answers, legal and moral

Legally as it is a joint mortgage then the bank want the money from either of them, it is not concerned who pays but will chase them both (and risk screwing credit rating) if it is not paid
Morally he has a child there...

Your cousin is best (if the relationship is definately over) to get some advice on what is going to happen in the future
Is there any equity in the property? is the mortgage now in arrears?
Would she be able to cover the mortgage out of benefits/maintenance

she should claim tax credits etc as a single parent
she should claim IS/JSA/look for a part time job and claim WTC
he should be paying 15% net income child maintenance
decide whether to sell the property and take half the equity (I believe as they are not married it will be 50/50) and rent, let him buy her out or see if she can buy him out.

With her there and currently not able to pay the mortgage and him refusing it will only be a matter of time before reposession may loom

Mrs_Bumble

As above they are both jointly and severally liable for the mortgage but how can you make him pay if he won't pay? The lender will chase both but can't physically make him pay and so if no money is forthcoming from either party then they will seek legal action/possession.

As above your cousin needs to get legal advice, if she doesn't feel like going to see a solicitor at this point then she can try Community Legal Advice http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/

Useful info in here:
http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/mortgage_cantpay.pdf

She probably should speak to Shelter as well as I feel sure they will be able to help in relation to her problem paying/rights/dealing with the lender etc.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/

You say above she doesn't work so unless she does get a job can't see anyway for her to buy him out so really she just needs to deal with what she can now and try to keep her credit rating and sort the problem before they become large problems.