can I be made responsible for my estranged husband's debt now he cannot work?

scrumpymummy

My husband left us about 15 months ago to live at his mum's, about 80 miles away. Fortunately he took all of his huge debt with him, both credit cards and loans - all of which are in his name. Heaven knows how he accrued this debt as the children and I, and the house, never benefited, but he is a drinker and a gambler and has continued to run up debts since he left. The house is in my name, we have one (dormant) joint account. However, we are not yet divorced as he wants to wait until we have been separated 2 years as he believes it will be cheaper. So the crux of the problem now is, am I responsible for his debt as he has now had a massive stroke and cannot work?

He worked through agencies so was not employed and there is no sick pay etc. If I am not responsible then who is? I doubt if he has insurance to cover his not being able to pay as he would not have 'expected' to be ill so it would've been an unnecessary expense, in his eyes. I need to know, partly so I can fight my corner as his family are having to unpick his finances and correspondence. I am on a low wage with almost double my salary in benefits. He earned more in a week than I earn in a month. He wasn't ungenerous with the money he sent for the children (although this has now instantly stopped), although he never contacted or saw the children as he was too busy living his life and working.

The next question will be Am I responsible if he dies? An IFA I know believes I will be as we are married in the eyes of the law.
I know I sound grasping and unsympathetic, but I'm very worried.

gb12345

Assuming the debts were all taken out solely in his name and he hasn't fraudulently applied for loans in joint names then his debts are nothing to do with you (and wouldn't be even if you were non-estranged).

As to who pays them now he can't, the simple answer is no one - the lenders will default him, sell the debt to a DCA or apply for a CCJ, but if he has no income and no assets then they'll get no money.

In the event of him dieing then any debts would have to be settled from his estate and if there is not enough money then the lenders get nothing.

antrobus

scrumpymummy wrote: »

... So the crux of the problem now is, am I responsible for his debt as he has now had a massive stroke and cannot work?

No.

scrumpymummy wrote: »

...The next question will be Am I responsible if he dies? ...

No. If he dies his debts will become part of his estate.

lisyloo

An IFA I know believes I will be as we are married in the eyes of the law.

Don't take any financial advice from this person.
You are not liable for you husbands debts.
Might be worth getting a copy of your statutory credit report (£2) and just checking that he's not opened any joint accounts. Also filing a "notice of disassocaition" if you are associated with him.
There is no need to pay for the more expensive on-line credit reports, they will give you nothing extra of any value.

Dimey

Now the children's maintenance has stopped, it might be worth your while getting a claim registered with the CSA so his affairs can take that into account.

Perhaps you should look into getting that divorce anyway - consult a solicitor. Also close the remaining joint account or at least have your name removed.

The house is definitely in your name right? He can't have used it for loan collateral in any way, that your unaware of? Addicts can be devious.

CLAPTON

get copies of you credit reports from all three agencies ; are you shown as being financially linked to ex

get a copy of the land register for your property; make sure no charges except your mortgage lender

close that dormant joint a/c .. it will cause your credit record to be trashed

lisyloo

GET a credit report - or all 3 (Equifax, Experian, call credit).
Call credit is free from www.noddle.co.uk
The others are £2 each.
Don't do the free trials - just pay the £2 - believe me it's a lot less hassle than trying to cancel a free trial.

If he has taking out any credit in your name it should show up on these.
This will only cost you £4 to get all 3, so you need to do this.

Lots of us do this regularly anyway, so you don't need to feel guilty about it. Checking is part of healthy finances.

Mojisola

If you divorce, he will have a claim on some of the matrimonial assets.

Voyager2002

scrumpymummy wrote: »

My husband left us about 15 months ago to live at his mum's, about 80 miles away. Fortunately he took all of his huge debt with him, both credit cards and loans - all of which are in his name. Heaven knows how he accrued this debt as the children and I, and the house, never benefited, but he is a drinker and a gambler and has continued to run up debts since he left. The house is in my name, we have one (dormant) joint account. However, we are not yet divorced as he wants to wait until we have been separated 2 years as he believes it will be cheaper. So the crux of the problem now is, am I responsible for his debt as he has now had a massive stroke and cannot work?

He worked through agencies so was not employed and there is no sick pay etc. If I am not responsible then who is? I doubt if he has insurance to cover his not being able to pay as he would not have 'expected' to be ill so it would've been an unnecessary expense, in his eyes. I need to know, partly so I can fight my corner as his family are having to unpick his finances and correspondence. I am on a low wage with almost double my salary in benefits. He earned more in a week than I earn in a month. He wasn't ungenerous with the money he sent for the children (although this has now instantly stopped), although he never contacted or saw the children as he was too busy living his life and working.

The next question will be Am I responsible if he dies? An IFA I know believes I will be as we are married in the eyes of the law.
I know I sound grasping and unsympathetic, but I'm very worried.

No, you have zero liability for debts that are purely his. However, some men in his situation trick their spouses into signing papers without explaining what they are, or even forging the wife's signature. So check carefully: clearly there are ways of resolving such problems, but doing so is complicated.

I am shocked that an IFA is so ignorant as to tell you otherwise: as already said, do not take any kind of advice from this person.

The joint account means that the two of you will be shown as being financially linked on credit ratings, and you will no longer be able to borrow money. However, that is as far as the damage goes. If your credit rating is important to you, I suggest that you explain the situation to the bank and ask them to notify the credit rating agencies that the two of you are no longer linked. (You can also add a note yourself to your credit record, but most lenders don't take any notice of information that you add yourself.)

As regards the cost of divorce: a 'no-fault' divorce is usually simpler than other kinds, and becomes possible after two years' separation. However, you could divorce him immediately on the grounds of desertion and unreasonable behaviour: so long as he agrees that his behaviour was unreasonable and goes along with the process, everything should be just as simple as a 'no fault' divorce and so costs should be the same. Note that legal aid is not available for divorce unless domestic violence was involved, so I suggest that you do it yourself rather than using a solicitor. You can get the forms from your local County Court, and the officials there will explain the basics of the process to you. Check what the court needs to sort out about arrangements for the children, and whether legal aid is still available for this.

lisyloo

If you divorce, he will have a claim on some of the matrimonial assets.

There might not be any, but even if there are - children are always the priority so it's extremely likely mother and children would stay in the matrimonial home.

He may be able to get something when the children are 18, but I can't see any difference to doing it now or in a couple of years time.

The home is not necesarily a matrimonial asset.

Mojisola

lisyloo wrote: »

There might not be any, but even if there are - children are always the priority so it's extremely likely mother and children would stay in the matrimonial home.

He may be able to get something when the children are 18, but I can't see any difference to doing it now or in a couple of years time.

The home is not necesarily a matrimonial asset.

But it would be foolish not to take the possibility into account.