help needed urgently

dancingfairy

Golemsgirlfriend wrote: »

My husband asked his mother to sell up and split the profits half and half but she refuses to do so. However she still expects my husband to pay the mortgage although her other son lives in the house with her and does not pay a penny. My husband cannot work because he has parkinson's disease. The mortgage now for her 3 bedroomed detached bungalow is £279.00 per month whereas we have to pay £312 per month for a one bedroomed housing association disabled flat.

I wasn't saying it was fair that the other son lived in the house without contributing or saying that you couldn't have survived without cashing in the endowment - it's whether it was a) the correct thing - you could have qualified for more benefits, set up a repayment plan , etc etc - we don't know given the info you have given and b) whether it was done in the correct manner. It doesn't appear to be out and out fraud from what you say but if he hasn't followed the correct laws and procedures then that is a problem.
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maninthestreet

Fraud is a criminal offence - why is a solicitor contacting him and not the police?

Golemsgirlfriend

we tried to get more benefits but there are none available. We live on £90 per week plus our savings. We had no other option other than to cash in the endowment. Until we spoke to the Halifax we were under the impression that we could not cash in the endowment without his mother's permission as the mortgage is in both names and still is. It was a life line to us when they said we could.

purple_haze

Is it possible that the endowment policy was in joint names and the solicitor is alleging that your husband fraudulently encashed it thereby helping himself to his mother's half of the proceeds?

Golemsgirlfriend

maninthestreet wrote: »

Fraud is a criminal offence - why is a solicitor contacting him and not the police?

The solicitor says he is deciding whether to make the a criminal matter. He also said he had enclosed the transcripts form the halifax but he hasn't. This is also very strange because as my husband is deaf, I speak for him on the telephone..... and it made no mention of me.

Golemsgirlfriend

No the endowment policy was in my husbands name only

silvercar

Golemsgirlfriend wrote: »

No the endowment policy was in my husbands name only

Which turns everything on its head.

Your husband cashed in the repayment vehicle for the mortgage, fully entitled to do if it is in his name alone.

This would mean that the Halifax require another repayment vehicle, the logical and easiest option is to change to repayment mortgage. Its almost the default position, some lenders on hearing that the endowment was cashed would transfer you to repayment mortgage without consulting. So really your husband's mum had little choice.

Bit of an unusual one to link an endowment in one name with a joint mortgage, given the ages of the people involved it is understandable, but it is the endowment being in one name that has enabled him to cash the endowment without consultation.

Golemsgirlfriend

Thank you so much for your help, the reason I asked for your opinions is because I was shocked that once again my husband has been treated so badly. I feel better now because I know we did the right thing and acted on the advice of the Halifax. This will be proven in the transcripts so we have nothing to worry about.

Thanks again.

Wh05apk

Golemsgirlfriend wrote: »

The solicitor says he is deciding whether to make the a criminal matter. He also said he had enclosed the transcripts form the halifax but he hasn't. This is also very strange because as my husband is deaf, I speak for him on the telephone..... and it made no mention of me.

Something is fishy here, I do not believe Halifax would have a transcript or record of the call, and if they did I do not think they would release it to anybody other than the other party to the call because of data protection, so I do not beleive the solictor has anything.

As has been said, fraud is a criminal offence, I do not beleive your husband has done anything wrong, so hopefully the solicitor will report it to them, so they can throw it out.

As I have said before, get professional advice, eithe CAB or solicitor, this is not a trivial matter.