Bankrupcy Advice

dixie06

I wonder if anyone could answer a couple of questions for me?

My friend has split up with her husband and has a 3 year old daughter which she has custody of. She recently found out he has loads of debts. She has a marital charge on the home they shared which is in his name only. One of these debts was for the mortgage for the marital home which he hadn't paid since last May and was going to court for a repossesion hearing, in the meantime.....they sold the house by auction (solving the repo problem) but a day before it was due to complete she found out he was going to go bankrupt. Would this affect the sale of the house or her settlement from the sale of the house? Her sols haven't been able to find anything out and she's going mad with worry. Is there a minimum amount you have to owe before going bankrupt (I don't think the bankruptcy is by choice and think one of his creditors is forcing it, don't really know how it works) and he also has another house with his new bit of stuff which is worth a lot of money plus a very nice beamer can he be forced to sell all of this (which would be nice since he left her a single mum on benefits!) Any advice welcome.

dixie06

Also, what if his new mortgage is in joint names could the sale of that be forced by him going bankrupt and would she have any claim on that?

Its a minefield

rog2

Hi Dixie - Not too sure on the house situation, but I would imagine that the OR will probably investigate the circumstances of the sale as it is so close to his bankruptcy. I would imagine, therefore that your friend will have to take her place in the queue, along with the other creditors.
As far as the minimum amount - a creditor CAN petition for bankruptcy on a debt as low as £750.00, although this is very unlikely, since that creditor will have to pay the up-front fees, which will probably be in excess of £1500, with no guarantee of getting it back if there are insufficient funds in his 'estate in bankruptcy'.
His Beneficial Interest in the new house will be vested in the OR and, providing that there is equity in the property, he could be forced to sell, although his new partner may be given the opportunity to 'purchase' his beneficial interest from the OR/Trustee.
He COULD lose his car - depending on value, ownership and whether he needs it in order to perform his work, or look for employment.
Hope this helps.

Richard_S

dixie06 wrote: »

Also, what if his new mortgage is in joint names could the sale of that be forced by him going bankrupt and would she have any claim on that?

Its a minefield

Hi dixie,

There's so much complexity with a situation like this that it's almost impossible to say what your friend should or shouldn't do for the best, or what she might expect from the sale of the house.

The only thing she can sensibly do is to check that her ex has actually gone bankrupt and not just using this as a smoke screen to dodge his liability to your friend. If you log on to the Insolvency Service web site there is a link that allows you to search by name for people who have been declared bankrupt.

If you find his name, contact the O.R's Office dealing with his estate, the details will be on the entry in his name, and ensure that the O.R is aware of her charge on the house.

As for his new house and car, my guess would be that nothing is in his name so your friend may struggle for any financial satisfaction there.

Richard

dixie06

Thanks for your input guys. Will tell her to check the website, I don't really know the full circumstances but do def know his new mortgage is a joint mortgage as somehow she found out he'd lied about his income on the application. It just makes me sad as he seems to be living the highlife without a thought for the little girl he's left absolutely nothing for :mad: