My Partners Ex husband cost us £30K help please

apples101

All,

I require a bit of advice re OR charges. (appoligies for long post)

My Wifes Ex Husband was made Bankcrupt back in 1991(approx), and at the point when they got divorced several years later it was not mentioned in the proceedings. As part of the settlement he wavered any right to the marital home, and the deeds were never changed due to the negative equity (legal aid would not pay) It later transpired that the bankruptcy had not been discharged!

The following year we were leaving to go on a weekend away and we received a letter addressed to to him (wife was still living in the same house at the time)
so my wife opened it only to find that the OR was now wanting half of the house equity due to the significant gains in house prices.

When we returned from from the weekend away we rang the OR and enquired what it was all about.

we were informed that they were entiled up to half of the equity to settle any outstanding debts listed on the bankruptcy order. However there was a slight complication..........

All but the front cover to the file had been lost by the courts so only the partitioning creditor and two others were listed totalling £2000 Max.

To resolve this matter the OR approched the court and obtained permission to advertise in a local paper and the London Gazzette to find any other interested party. To which none came forward.

Through out various stages of the proceedings we were told that the bill would be £5K then £7k etc.... untill a total of £32K was required.... all but the original £2k was in fees.

We approcahed several firms to look into this for us at the time but they were wanting to charge us over £100/Hr a rate we could not afford, and no-one was willing to give us an indication on how much it would cost...... (i got a distinct feeling that they were all rubbing there hands when i told them of the situation... greedy b"$%^&*s...)

Could anyone please shed any light on the situation as i have a feeling that we have been taken to the cleaners................:mad:

lynzpower

im sorry I really dont know but thought Id bump this up for you

apples101

bump. bump. bump

nearlyrich

Have you tried the CAB for some advice?

CFC

You need proper advice on this one, as it looks like it's going to be complex. If he waived any right to the marital home as part of the final financial settlement granted by the courts, I'm not sure why anyone is now sniffing around wanting some of it. A valid court order is a valid court order, regardless of whether the name on the deeds was actually changed, I believe. The court order detailing the final settlement should say what he is entitled to - and any debtors are only entitled to what he is entitled to, not what anyone else is entitled to. But perhaps there are hidden factors or arcane, Dickensian points of law which negate this in these circumstances.

I suggest CAB first, as nearly rich suggests. It looks to me as if you have a need for specialist advice.

apples101

No i havn't tried the CAB yet i thought it to be a little out of their league?

poppy_f1

the cab may be able to put you in touch with someone who can help

tyllwyd

I don't quite understand why you are asking for advice here if you think the situation is too complex for the CAB to advise on?

I agree with the other posters, you need professional advice from a solicitor. Perhaps The Law Society might be able to help you find someone who specialises in this area?

mattp_3

hi

have you tried to send the paperwork regarding the divorce to the OR to show that the property should only be in your partners name?

you could certainly launch an enquiry into the OR's fees via the county court as they are generally only allowed to take a percentage of the value of any assets realised (hence why he has waited so long until he puts a claim on the property - knowing that property prices will increase and he can get a huge cut) but to add £30k in fees when he hasnt actually done anything seems dodgy?

It is certainly a complex situation and I would recommend you contact Payplan https://www.payplan.com or CCCS https://www.cccs.com and ask to speak to a bankruptcy specialist before you do anything else.

Sorry I cant be of more help - hope it all gets resolved
Matt

apples101

tyllwyd wrote:

I don't quite understand why you are asking for advice here if you think the situation is too complex for the CAB to advise on?

I agree with the other posters, you need professional advice from a solicitor. Perhaps The Law Society might be able to help you find someone who specialises in this area?

Tyllwyd,

i appreciate your comment but i thought that there maybe someone who has had experiance in this field and perhapps give me contact detials for somebody in the know.

Mattp

I mentioned this when i set up my DMP as this is the main reason why we are curently struggling. They didnt put me through to a specilest perhapps as they were to busy at the time, and they suggested that we just put overspent on credit as the reason for the diffculties...........

i was also hoping that i might just catch the eye of Martin or one of his helpers as these excessive charges are going to get increasingly common as the number of Banckruptcies increase.

Apple_2

apples101

Try posting this question on : http://www.debthelpuk.co.uk/forum/

It's a debt advice site. People there are conversant with the OR looking to achieve the bankrupt's equity value. I think the OR re bankrupcy over-rides any divorce settlement BUT I'm not sure. If you post on that site you'll get more detailed information.

Personally I think it's too complex for CAB too. You need specialist advice.