Debt in ex's name

Legacy_user

Hi all,

My boyfriend split up from his wife last year and she has recently had her solicitor send him a letter asking for him to pay half the debt that is in her name. It's credit cards, loans and overdrafts amounting to £25,000 and he has no way of paying this off as not on a huge wage.

Is there much she can do about this as it is all in her name?

Some of this was his debt, but certainly not all of it, she is claiming it is all both their debt.

He was paying her £100 per week until the end of last year, she is claiming in the letter that this was towards the debt, but she was using it towards the bills for the household.

Emmzi

depends - was it run up for stuff for him, for her, for them both?

two aspects - what will be arrived at as the financial settlement of the marriage - and who the debt collectors will go after.

Until there's a financial settlement, I'd not be paying for debts i couldn't be chased for. But it also depends how antagonistic bitter and drawn out he wants the divorce to be.

Mediation may be of help here.

pinkshoes

If some of it was his debt, but in her name, he should make an arrangement to pay it. It's only fair.

(but as it's in her name, then she'd have to prove that some of it is his debt, which isn't easy...)

System

Emmzi wrote: »

depends - was it run up for stuff for him, for her, for them both?

two aspects - what will be arrived at as the financial settlement of the marriage - and who the debt collectors will go after.

Until there's a financial settlement, I'd not be paying for debts i couldn't be chased for. But it also depends how antagonistic bitter and drawn out he wants the divorce to be.

Mediation may be of help here.

Thanks for your reply.

The debt was for both of them, but not all of it.

Not sure what you mean by the financial settlement, there are no assets to divide apart from a car. She owns her own house, and did so before their marriage, so that wouldn't be an issue.

He was the one that was working during the marriage, so was paying the bills then.

I forgot to say, a big bulk of the money owed is to her family as she borrowed from her sister to pay off debts.

He is not sure what to do here, reply to solicitor letter, or ignore it?? He isn't in a financial position to be paying out for his own solicitor at the moment either.

Caroline_a

You say that she owned her own house from before the marriage - I understood that once people married then assets became joint. Can someone correct/confim this? Of course there is the moral issue too....

Additionally I would have thought that if the bulk of the debts were from her borrowing from her family (for whatever reason) then those debts lie with her.

DVardysShadow

Seven wrote: »

... I forgot to say, a big bulk of the money owed is to her family as she borrowed from her sister to pay off debts.

Well, a lot depends on whose debts those were in the first place.

System

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Well, a lot depends on whose debts those were in the first place.

It was debt from both of them.

System

Caroline_a wrote: »

You say that she owned her own house from before the marriage - I understood that once people married then assets became joint. Can someone correct/confim this? Of course there is the moral issue too....

Additionally I would have thought that if the bulk of the debts were from her borrowing from her family (for whatever reason) then those debts lie with her.

We weren't sure about the assets being joined, he isn't really bothered about getting the house, just wants to know where he stands with this debt, as he feels he shouldn't be due that much.

clearingout

if the debts are to family, unless some kind of agreement was drawn up to show this, it's going to be difficult to prove. You keep saying 'the debt is joint' but you don't say what for. If he has benefitted from the money in some way then he has a moral obligation to pay his share back. In my divorce, I had taken out a large loan to pay into the family business and my ex had run up a very large debt against the business - these were both considered 'joint' and dealt with as such.

If he is divorcing but there are no assets or capital to split, it is still necessary to get the finances signed off by way of Consent Order to stop the other half coming back for more money at a later date. You don't want her turning up in 10 years time, do you?

BitterAndTwisted

The property may not be a joint-asset depending on how long the marriage was. If it was a short one both parties are usually returned to the same financial state as they were at the start. In your b/f's position I would almost certainly be having a long, hard think about the repercussions of that hypothetical situation. It could be used as leverage to get her to settle this debt to her family on her own. In his position I would most definitely not part with a penny until a sensible discussion had taken place about any Consent Order or financial settlement.

Talking to a solicitor, even if he can't really afford one could be the best £100 he ever spent. Or borrowed.

Emmzi

you need a financial settlement to assign debts as well as assets.

Again I suggest mediation as a cheaper alternative to paying oodles in solicitors fees which will do no one but the solicitors any good...