spouse liability scotland

kookywooky

Hi
I was helped by this site 10 years ago when my husband declared bankruptcy.

Debts were mostly business apart from 1 joint bank loan of £16k. He was discharged 2014 and we have moved on since then. However, someone mentioned recently that the bank could pursue me for the debt.

They didn't pursue me at the time and have heard nothing in 10 years.

Can they pursue me personally for this debt?

Advice would be much appreciated
TIA

D_M_E

Joint means they can chase either of you for payment, whether or not one of you was made bankrupt. That's the situation south of the border, probably the same in Scotland.

Was it secured loan, or unsecured loan?

If unsecured then under Scottish rules the debt becomes statute barred after 5 years where nothing has been paid to the loan or it has not been acknowledged for that length of time - 10 years means you will have a good defence should anyone come calling.

If secured then the time limit is different - south of the border it's 12 years for a secured loan but I don't know what the limit is in Scotland - if it is secured then you need to find out the time limit for secured in Scotland.

National_Debtline

Hi kookywooky


It's probably best that we disregard the reference to "spouse liability" in your thread title, as whether you are/were married has absolutely nothing to do with the matter.


The joint loan was presumably unsecured given that it was included in your husband's bankruptcy - or at least, his share of the liability was. The bank could still have pursued you at the time, though it appears that for one reason or another they have not. While we don't currently have the full picture, it's worth your while reading this guide to time limits for recovering debt:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/S/factsheets/Pages/statute-barred-debt-scotland/time-limits-for-recovering-debts.aspx


Dennis
@natdebtline

kookywooky

Thank you both for the replies, they are very helpful.