Sorting separation agreement - Loan in my mother's name

JoJuk

Hello,

My wife and I separated last month and I plan to create a draft Separation Agreement to take to the solicitor's.

When we got married my mother paid approx. £6000 on her credit card on behalf of both of us for our Wedding and as a couple we have being paying this back every month with a set amount. She also took a loan out in her name on behalf of us for £7000 to clear some of our high APR debts and we have always paid this back in monthly instalments as well. For the loan we signed an agreement to pay this back (I drafted it on behalf of my mother, we didn't use solicitors) but for the wedding credit card we didn't sign anything.

I've informed my ex-wife that I will be including both these monthly payments as part of the separation agreement stating she must pay half until cleared and she has already verbally told me that she won't accept this as she can't afford it and as both the loan and credit card are in my mother's name that she has no legal obligation. I reminded her we signed an agreement for the loan and she said this is not legally binding either.

My mum is very upset as I am going to find it hard to be able to pay back both to her every month; please can anyone give us advice if there is anything I can do?

Many thanks

On_my_way

Hi

I have no idea about how to do this but this forum has great ways about saving money and cutting down personal spending.

I have seen it a lot (on here) where people have had their parents take out loans for them. It's illegal and very unfair. I agree that you need to pay your mum back as soon as possible.

enthusiasticsaver

I am not even sure if a separation agreement is legally enforceable. If the loan is now less than £5k and your original loan agreement is legal then your mum could take both you and your wife to the small claims court but I am assuming she will not want to do that as your credit record will also be affected. If your wife refuses to pay up and your mum does not want to take you both to court then either she will need to write off part of the debt or you will have to pay it all back but maybe over a longer period.


A sad lesson to learn but it is never a good idea to lend to friends or family unless you can afford to lose it.

andyfromotley

see a solicitor on your own!! you are already in dispute with your soon to be ex. This does not bode well for the rest of your divorce. You do have some bargaining power. Being reasonable swings both ways as does being unreasonable if the case demands it.

If the facts are as you say i would be furious and make it clear to the ex that i will now make everything as difficult as i possibly can.

sourcrates

Loan and credit card debts are in your mothers name.
Only agreement that counts is the CCA agreement for each account, your mother is solely liable for each one, sorry, end of story.

andyfromotley

Thats only true in regard to the CCA. Yes his mother is solely responsible for the repayment of those debts.

However he is getting divorced and there will be assets and liabilities to be divided an apportioned, either by agreement, negotiation, mediation or a court. These will look holistically at the whole financial makeup of the relationship. It is perfectly possible to include the debts he describes in this process. Either by adjustment of lump sum splits either way etc etc Thats why he needs to see a solicitor on his own.

JoJuk

Thanks for your comments. I am seeing my solcitor on Tuesday, will report back what they say.