charging order/ restriction on property

lyndymay

Husband passed away in New year. Have just got round to sorting finances. I have just been notified that there is a restriction on our house for a debt my husband had on a credit card. It is with cabot. I knew nothing about it. I have now been told this means the house is held as tenants in common which affects probate. It is our only asset and it wont affect inheritance tax. There was no will but it is below the rate for intestate. My main questions are;
If I was never informed, can I have it removed?
If I cant have it removed, can the company force a sale now my husband has passed.?
I cant afford to pay it off (£13000)
If I get it removed, will it revert to joint tenants?
Any advice or direct me to some online resources please.

Keep_pedalling

Whether you owned the house as joint tenants or TiC it makes no difference to the probate process as you should not need probate.

It may be that your husband split the tenancy. You should have been informed of that happening, but it would have been quite easy for him to hide that from you.

Technically they could force a house sale but they are very unlikely to do so as the legal costs would out-way the debt.

I would recommend you speak to one of the dept charities (Stepchange or National debt line) for advice on how to handle this.

SeniorSam

Just make sure the debt is correct. Ask for full details and as long as you are satisfied then that is the first step. If it is a genuine debt, then it will need to be paid, but you need to ascertain the terms of paying it off, which need to be clear in any agreement. Paying it later than sooner may mean more interest to pay, but check it out
 The debt is nothing to do with how the house was owned although any change in ownership should need to signatures of you both and you can check with the :Land Registry to see when the change was made..

p00hsticks

SeniorSam said:

 The debt is nothing to do with how the house was owned although any change in ownership should need to signatures of you both and you can check with the :Land Registry to see when the change was made..

I may be wrong but I think it has come up before on either this board or the housing one that it is possible for one owner to change the way a house is held from joint tenants to tenants in common without getting the other owners permission or even letting them know.

Savvy_Sue

They can change it without permission. Theoretically they can't change it without letting the other party know, but it's quite easy to imagine that the letter might not be seen by the other party, 

RAS

Do go over to the debt-free forum. If you are feeling strong, read the "Charging Order, a myth" thread; it is very very long. Or sit down with the kettle alongside and some biccies.

And ask about your specific circumstances. There will be help.