Joint Mortgage & Bankruptcy

crystal60

Hi
My ex partner (never married) left the property which I am living in with my children 15 months ago - the mortgage is in joint names and I have been paying it since he left. I am now in a position to pay him his share of the equity. I have been advised not to do this as in the past he has threatened bankruptcy but as yet has not gone down that road. As it stands I am unable to get the mortgage in my name alone and have been told that even if I pay him out now because he would still be named on the mortgage if he goes bankrupt the receivers can still make a claim on the property to pay off his debts. I would like to know if this is correct and if there is anyway to prevent this from happening with some sort of document from a solicitor stating that he has had his share of equity if I pay him out now and if so how water tight would it be with the receivers if he decided to go bankrupt after I pay him out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

loveka

If he is on the deeds then there could be a claim on his half of the equity, by which time he may have spent the money you gave him!

If he is going to go bancrupt, you are better off holding on to the money and then giving it to the official receiver afterwards, thus saving your home, as my understanding is that all they would want is his half of the equity.

Are all the debts in his name alone?

I don't know if anything from a solicitor would protect you if he was still on the deeds. You should probably get legal advice on all this anyway-even paying for an initial consultation would put your mind at rest. It might also be worth posting your query on the mortgages board, as I believe there are issues around having the same names on the deeds of the house as on the mortgage, is if someone has responsibility for paying the mortgage -even if they don't actually do so- they have to be on the deeds. You could go and see a mortgage broker and find out what the options are there. Good luck.

alastairq

I agree with the above.......rather than pay your EX now, an amount you think will be sufficient....why not wait & see?

If he petitions BR, the OR will decide what Beneficial Interest your Ex has. This can be negotiable on your part [it may not end up being 50%, up to you to negotiate when the time comes?}

Then there is the value of that Interest.....much of which will depend entirely on the existing equity in the property.
This, of course, depends on the market value....another aspect which can be arguable on your part?

So, should the time come when an Official Receiver is involved, you will have the opportunity to purchase your Ex's interest [if any??] without recourse to Solicitors?

BTW..your Ex would not have subsequent, later,recourse to Equity, since a Bankruptcy places all his assets into the hands of the Official receiver.