Coping with a Tactical Bankruptcy

mookie2805

Ok this is quite a long and complicated story and so I will break it down into a short history

My partner divorced in Jan 2011 from her Husband
The settlement agreed a 68/32 split to her
Ordered the matrimonial home to be sold
This would clear secured loan/Credit Cards/Bank accounts
Feb 2011 house was put on the market
No offers at all by September 2011
She lived in the house with their two sons
Ex Husband began a campaign to lower the price and sell at any price
He didn't pay ANY bills of any kind for the house since 2010
Myself and partner were ordered by him to go to court and lower the price. He lost.
We removed the house from the market and advised that it didn't need to be sold.
December 2012. Ex husband was court barred from custody of his children as he was a danger to them.
He agreed that the house didn't need to be sold. We began to negotiate a way of buying his share.
2 weeks later he declared himself bankrupt. We found out in the paper in April 2013.

Now there are some other facts. Until December 2012 he maintained that he lived at home. However at court it emerged that he lived with his former account for his business and had done for 2 years. He had also signed his business over to her before bankruptcy. He also claimed to have paid his family 6k that year for a loan they gave him.
He made a new agreement with the CSA claiming that he only earned £7500 a year. Before divorce in 2010 his business turned over declared income of 40k as well as cash. He now pays £104 a month for his children.

Now can anyone tell me what we can do?

We are dealing with a trustee but it isn't easy for us to raise the money to buy his share.
We don't want to sell as we can afford to live there. We have paid all the bills easily for 4 years and cleared the arrears.
On our current wages we cant get a mortgage to buy it
The damage to the children has been terrible and don't want to move and we don't want to rent
We feel we are being forced to do something that we simply don't have to do.
How can he say that the house led to his bankruptcy when he didn't pay them month to month????
Can we assume the mortgage from him thus removing him?
The trustee is saying very little, We cant afford solicitors and just cant get a straight answer. Its a complete sham of a bankruptcy. We also have to watch as he enjoys almost endless holidays whilst we try and save our family home.
It doesn't feel right and we just cant get any advise that makes sense.
we really are at our wits end. We just don't have access to funds for a loan or a mortgage at present. The damage this has all caused on the children is hard to bear. Can we go back to court to vary the court order? If it had been left to him the house would of been repossessed as he just wanted us out. Its not about money.

mookie2805

it seems to easy for people to use bankruptcy as a bargaining tool. My family are being tormented by the fact that an apparent bankrupt is causing us constant stress when he has lied and worked the system in order to force a house sale. I appreciate some people benefit from this but it isn't fair on a lot of people

woodformoretrees

mookie2805 wrote: »

it seems to easy for people to use bankruptcy as a bargaining tool. My family are being tormented by the fact that an apparent bankrupt is causing us constant stress when he has lied and worked the system in order to force a house sale. I appreciate some people benefit from this but it isn't fair on a lot of people

Except there's a whole world of difference between someone being made bankrupt after trying their very best to deal with their debts and you dealing with an fraudster and lying toe rag (which from your previous posts is the situation you've been left trying to clear up).

Anondebtadvisor

How much equity is the trustee claiming for the ex husbands half?

mookie2805

His share is worth around 20k with the equity that we have in the property. Also he was only awarded 32%

mookie2805

also just to reiterate he was allowed to be signed off as bankrupt despite not paying the mortgage of £900 or the second loan £388 for 3 years prior to bankruptcy. The other debts that he had he was paying off like credit cards. Its a complete farce.

nottoolate

nothing forces him to pay the mortgage.

report his signing away the business and paying off family to his trustee

mookie2805

I understand that but he left the matrimonial home and doesn't pay a thing but then is declared bankrupt saying that he cant afford the mortgage and second loan!! How can that affect his day to day life if he never paid it anyway? Surely its the reverse?? Now he doesn't pay any household bills he would have more money? We pay the mortgage and have done for 4 years. Its the fact that he has been able to manipulate the system to try and force us out of the home. Basically in August 2010 he paid all of the household bills/Expenditure using his business which earned around 50k in declared/Undeclared income. Then from sept 2010 he didn't pay in excess of 1700 bills yet he still had the same business and claimed to be living at home with mum and dad. 2 years later he is bankrupt, Earning so little that he can only pay the lowest possible amount that anyone can pay CSA, Signed his 14 year business to his accountant girlfriend and lives in her house. Now leading a stress free life swanning round on holidays and doing what he likes. Whilst he does that we are having the threat of being forced to sell the house. For what reason. Someone please tell me how that is justified. Its not always about the bankrupt.

mookie2805

nottoolate wrote: »

nothing forces him to pay the mortgage.

report his signing away the business and paying off family to his trustee

We reported all of our concerns to the OR and the initial insolvency officer. We were only asked for proof of the divorce settlement showing the share of the house and also our mortgage payments that we have made. In the bankruptcy he had claimed to have 50% share. That was a lie and yet it still goes on. We have been treated appallingly and no one is willing to offer any advise for us in this situation.

We don't have the money for lawyers to fight this and court cases. The money we earn goes on paying our bills and getting our business going as well as giving our children as normal a life as we can. We would be able to buy later in time but we have time against us.

mookie2805

woodformoretrees wrote: »

Except there's a whole world of difference between someone being made bankrupt after trying their very best to deal with their debts and you dealing with an fraudster and lying toe rag (which from your previous posts is the situation you've been left trying to clear up).

I do appreciate that and for many it is the last resort. However from my investigations into this its a worrying trend for businesses and individuals to use this as a way of gaining. There are always victims and it just seems that we are being punished yet we as a family have done nothing but pay our way and secure our home as best we can

Anondebtadvisor

Bankruptcy only deals with unsecured debts and any assets become part of the bankruptcy estate - so for all purposes the mortgage and secured loan is irrelevant!

I can understand how you feel he has walked away and started a new life.

If you have a consent order or other ancillary relief order you can provide this to the trustee in bankruptcy a proof of his share in the property for them to calculate his share of the equity.

Do you agree with the property valuation the trustee is using? if no you can get your own forced sale valuations and dispute the value.

Have you negotiated with the trustee to see if they will take a charge over the property? they will sometimes do this where his share of the equity