Please advise me? Jointly owned house!!?

Question

My ex partner and i split up 2 years ago, i have since found out that he owes at least £20,000(not against the house) If our house was sold would his debts be taken out of the money first? He pays nothing towards the mortgage now. my children and i want to stay in our home.I am working all hours to pay my morg but will it be taken from us anyway?

Answer 1

You don`t say if your still actually married or not !
If your still married to him then there is a possibility that if thing`s go to court they could order a judgement again`s his asset`s ( the fact he has paid something toward`s the house legally give`s him a stake in this property )It has to be a clear 5 year`s of him not paying anything towards the mortgage before his right`s are removed to his stake !
My advice to you is go and speak to your solicitor now , citizens advice will not be able to deal with this as it is very complex process even more difficult if you were never married but were living together as man & wife .
Go to your solicitor`s now , Before it`s to late .

Answer 2

You are very unlikely to lose the family home - one of the prime considerations in a divorce where children are involved is the happiness and well-being of the children. The Court is likely to consider it unreasonable to require you and your children to leave the house as it is likely that you will simply need a similar house to replace it. IMPORTANT - do not give up or sell the family home unless forced to by a Court Order... if you do so then the local council will regard you as "voluntarily homeless" and will not be under any obligation to re-house you.

You should seek advice from a Solicitor because it seems to me from the small amount of information that you have given that your ex should be contributing to the upkeep of the mortgage which is keeping a roof over his childrens' heads. His other debts (unless they are joint with you) are to a large extent his own problem and should not impact you. A Solicitor should be able to advise you on a reasonable financial settlement between yourself and your ex, involving the completion of a form called a "Form E" by both parties. This details all your (and your ex's) income, expenditure and debts and allows a Judge to decide how to divide the assets (and liabilities) between you. As I said, the Judge will take the needs of your children into consideration.

You may be eligible for Legal Aid (if the ownership of the house is in dispute then this is not taken as one of your assets when deciding if you are eligible). This website gives some basic details about eligibility>>> http://www.accesslaw.co.uk/funding.htm#eligibility

When finding a Solicitor, make sure that whoever you choose is on the Law Society Family Law Panel (see http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/professional/accreditationpanels.law#flp) and is a member of Resolution (see http://www.resolution.org.uk/ )

Answer 3

First thing you need to do is go see an attorney. This is FIRST and foremost. You need to document when he left the house, the fact that he is NOT paying anything towards the mortage. Is he paying child support? This can ALL be taken care of in court. BUT you do need the guidance of a lawyer. You could very possibly end up with the house or at a minimum until the kids are 18. But again see a lawyer. Good Luck.

Answer 4

What becomes of that 20,000 obligation is determined by legal jurisdiction. I'm in California. You are unlikely to lose the home, especially since you are working and making the payments. However, the following could happen in California and needs your attention:

One of his creditors sues him to collect the money. He doesn't respond to the summons to appear and loses by default. The creditor then gets a "default judgment." The creditor sends someone out to find his assets. The title to the home turns up with his name on it. The creditor places a lien on the property title with the default judgment. The lien becomes public record which can be seen by others. You will not get a notice of this lien. When you go to sell your home (in California) that becomes something that must be paid in full as part of the sale closing. This becomes something you must work out with him at that point.

I don't know what the legal situation in the UK is.

Answer 5

Unless he has debts that are secured on the house in some way, or the debtors have gone to Court and secured a charge against the house, the money wont be.
It will be divided equally (unless the divorce says otherwise) and he might have to pay the debts out of his half. If the debts are solely in his name, then he will be 100% responsible for them, and you wont have to pay.

As for you losing the house it will depend on your lawyer and the Court settlement. As you have the children you may be awarded 100% of the house, or may just have to pay him a couple of grand to buy him out. Best talk to a lawyer

Answer 6

No. You will only lose the house if the debtors file a lien against the property in court. Since it is jointly owned, I really don't see them doing this.

Answer 7

Go and see solicitor, then finacial advisor or citizens advice bureau. The quicker you go the better it will be for you. They will sort this mess out A.S.A.P.
If you have records of payment find them and see if he'll admit he hasn't paid any money towards house.
If not you probably need to get clever and catch him out some how.

Answer 8

if its not against the house his debts cannot be taken from the equity if your house was sold. however, he may be entitled to a proportion of the equity depending on what was outlined in your divorce settlement. if in doubt check with your solicitor and seek financial advice.

Answer 9

What ever debt was incurred while together would be equally shared, although if this debt was incurred after your separation date then he would be responsible for from his proceeds of the home.

Answer 10

if its not sucured on the house then it cant be touched