Can I go bankrupt without losing home

Darren48

Hi guys,

I'm currently in debt management plan and I am being told that going bankrupt would be better, could I do this without losing house with was signed over to wife just over 5 years ago, the debts are within last 2 years!

I have no input into house as my income is dla which goes on a car, my wife pays debt management fee!

Any help would be massively appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Darren

lizisintrouble

Im no expert by any means. however it could be deemed you have "beneficial interest " in the home. I am also researching this as i live with my partner who is the father of my children but we split then he bought a house (nothing to do with me) and we are just about to move in with him. I think it boils down to who paid the deposit, did/do you contribute to home improvements/do you pay half the mortgage. Im looking at it from the angle of if we separated would i feel i had a claim on the house? in my case the answer would be 'no' as he will be paying his mortgage and i will be paying 1/2 of all other costs.

I cant post links but i found this on this site in another post.
A person's interest in a property is her/his entitlement to the proceeds of the sale and is known as beneficial interest. It is different from the legal title to the property which is held by the owner(s). The size of the bankrupt's interest in the home will depend on who provided the deposit, who paid mortgage repayments and/or for home improvements, and what income the bankrupt person brought into the home.

The home may be owned wholly by the bankrupt's spouse, civil partner or partner. Even in these cases, the trustee will usually contact the partner and investigate, for example, whether or not the bankrupt has any interest in the home and whether the spouse, civil partner or partner's title to the home is genuine (for example, that it was not obtained with money provided by the bankrupt). The trustee has no right to sell the property if it is established that the bankrupt has no interest in the home.
If the bankrupt's spouse, civil partner or children are living in the home it may be possible to postpone the sale for up to a year, or, in exceptional circumstances, to oppose the order for sale.



A person who is not a legal owner may still have a beneficial interest and a beneficial interest may give him a rights to the property.
Understanding and establishing beneficial interest when someone is not a legal owner is complex These paragraphs do not go into detail and cannot cover every situation and development in case law. They are intended merely to highlight the main issues.
A person may have a beneficial interest arising from:-
an agreement with the legal owner which has been confirmed in writing, normally in a trust deed - see next paragraph
contributions to the cost of the property which the law recognises as creating a trust even if there is no written agreement.


Has the person who is not the legal owner made a financial contribution If the non-owner has made a direct financial contribution towards the purchase of the property, s/he may have a beneficial interest, unless the legal owner can show that the contribution was made on a different understanding, or that it was a gift.
Direct financial contributions which could count include:-
payment towards a deposit
paying some of the capital due on the outstanding mortgage
regular and substantial contributions towards the regular monthly mortgage payments.
Indirect financial contributions which are not paid directly towards the purchase of the property are less likely to create a beneficial interest, for example, payments towards household bills and other expenses.
Was there discussion and agreement about beneficial interest If there was no direct financial contribution towards the purchase price, the person who is not the legal owner may be able to establish a beneficial interest if s/he can show that:-
it was intended by both her/him and the legal owner that s/he should have a financial stake. This intention can sometimes be assumed from the actions of both people, for example, making contributions to the cost of the property, if the court thinks this shows an intention to share the financial value of the property; and
this intention was explicitly discussed, agreed or arranged between them; and
as a result, s/he has acted to her/his disadvantage in a way which shows that s/he was expecting to have a financial interest in the property. Indirect contributions to the property, for example, paying household bills, might be an example of acting to her/his disadvantage. Having children and giving up the chance of work would probably not be sufficient.

debt_doctor

Hi,

What was the reason that the property was transferred just over 5 years ago?

DD

Darren48

Hi DD,

We decided to go into one name on advice from finincial advisior, it was to get a better deal due to credit ratings etc.

Theres no seedy reason!

Thanks

ILW

Darren48 wrote: »

Hi DD,

We decided to go into one name on advice from finincial advisior, it was to get a better deal due to credit ratings etc.

Theres no seedy reason!

Thanks

Creditors may not see it that way.

Darren48

ILW wrote: »

Creditors may not see it that way.

The debts are from 2010 to 2012 and the house was signed over 2008 long before the debts were even in existence!


The house was not signed over due to these debts!

Thanks

arcon5

The dates will certainly act in your favor.

The receiver may though still ask questions about this property.... have you contributed towards the mortgage? Or the upkeep of the house or anything? If not, can you demonstrate this to be true?

How much equity is in the property?

Who paid the initial deposit to buy the house?

Darren48

arcon5 wrote: »

The dates will certainly act in your favor.

The receiver may though still ask questions about this property.... have you contributed towards the mortgage? Or the upkeep of the house or anything? If not, can you demonstrate this to be true?

How much equity is in the property?

Who paid the initial deposit to buy the house?

The deposit was paid 25 years ago by my wife. I haven't contributed to the house for 8-10 years, all incomings and outgoings are through my wife's account.

There is approx 75% equity but both of us are to old and have poor credit to go down that route!

Darren48

Any thoughts guys?
Thanks

now

It used to be only assets transferred and sold within the past five years they were interested in, not sure what it is today as i was declared br in 2009 and i know things have changed

Darren48

Thanks guys who where would I get the best advice on it? Don't mind paying just want to be sure that the house is safe!

Thanks