What happens to the partner of a bankrupt person.

Twinkletoes

My oh is going br and I wonder what effect this will have on me. A lot of the things in the house (mainly the more costly things) are mine, but I haven't got receipts for everything. With calculating his expenses and income and all that, will they look at my income. I mean, I have my own bills to pay. I'm getting quite paranoid about this because I cannot talk to anyone about this. Don't want to bother oh because he is going to go through a pretty rough time anyway. Anybody with some experience out there can clear the air a bit? By the way, wasn't aware of the problems until recently. Oh has a good job so never really questioned anything (am a bit to easy going about what he does but very strict when it comes to my money, or is that frugal..)

Xbigman

Your questions cover several different area's.

Assetts.
Make a list of your assetts. Your OH should not list these on the list of his assetts but should tell the OR about them. Anything you paid for and still own is yours and cannot be touched. As long as nothing is registered in the others name (IE cars) or insured in the others name then this should be very straight forward.
If property is in joint names you should talk to CAB and get expert advice. I mean see them in your own right.

Income.
Utility bills and such will probably end up in your name, insurance will probably be cheaper to take out in your name. However, any essential expence should be split 50/50. Different OR's do look at these things slightly differently and your OH should let the OR know you expect him to pay his share. In your OH's statement of affairs he should list his income and not yours and halve all living costs.

Debts.
If anything is in joint names or your name only, you will become liable for the debt yourself.
Regards



X

Justindebt

Must there be a certain amount of time between transferring assets into a partner's name and the declaration of bankruptcy so as to ensure one's home or car cannot be claimed by creditors?

Willsnarf1983

i thought that if any items were not transferred within the last 7 years or was it 6 then they could still be taken away from you...i may be wrong



Will

Xbigman

Depending on the amount of the bankruptcy the OR can be very interested in your assetts or not interested at all. It all depends on numerous factors. If you can't explain where the money went the OR will look for assetts including checking bank statements/credit records. The OR can sieze assetts you have tried to hide and you can be prosecuted or have your bankruptcy extended for making a false declaration. If you have sold something then tell the OR and explain what you did with the money. Don't try to hide anything as honesty is the best policy. If you buy a car for thousands and sell it to a relative for pennies you can expect trouble. If you sell for a realistic price it won't be pursued, as long as you can say where the money went.

As a personal opinion, bankruptcy is a new start and clears all debts. If you have a car that could help pay some of your debts then you should give it up. Remember, its not your car as you never actually paid for it. The OR will allow you to keep cheaper cars or downgrade your car for a cheaper one if you need a car. People who abuse bankruptcy are idiots who have not learnt the emotional side of handling money.

In my case I had accounts and records to show where I had spent the money. I had one meeting with the OR and told him I earned £890 per month with a family to support. I passed him all the records. After 5 minutes he passed them back, told me to contact him if I came into money or changed jobs and I could go. We never spoke again. My car was worth £500, or would have been if MOT'd, which wasn't worth selling so I kept it (I needed it for work).
Regards




X

Xbigman

Actually I never answered your question. In practical terms anything disposed off in the previous year should be disclosed to the OR.
Regards




X

Twinkletoes

We did have a house together but have sold that basically to try to cut costs and because renting was cheaper then the mortgage. We paid of a joint debt and some debts I made because I paid for oh. (paid of a credit card once when I thought he only had small debt and paid the deposit on his car (which has gone back to the h/p company) The rest of the money we used to pay of personal debts as we felt that we couldn't let (mainly my parents) suffer for the situation we're in and also because we had to pay back now anyway as they are about to buy another house. It's such a pickle, I was never aware of his spending and also part of the debt is an old debt out of another realtionship. Am really scared that they will think I knew about it al along and maybe even inform my work. Are they allowed to do that? Another thing is that we recently got married. I paid for most of that (instalments over two years, before I even knew), but OH paid for a few small things. Can they get ratty over that?

Xbigman

Don't worry about it. In the circumstances they won't come after you at all in *his* bankruptcy. If you sold a property and repaid debts with the money that will be seen as a legitimate use, as long as you didn't pay off all your debts and none of his. Make a list of which companies were paid off and how much. If the OR asks about it your OH can give him the info. Paperwork would be good if you still have it IE account closed/settled letters.
OR might ask why he paid off some debts fully and not a little to everyone. Answer that you never thought that far ahead.
Regards



X