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Mspraise1
Junior Member
United Kingdom
204 Posts |
 Posted - 20 February 2009 : 13:16:51
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I am due to go bankrupt in the next month. I am married and have two young children. I have been informed that each spouse has to be responsible for their own debt. I have since lost my job through redundancy and therefore have no choice but to go bankrupt as I have no means by which to pay my debts.
Can anyone tell me what happens when one of you goes bankrupt and the other person does not? Do they try to take the house away from the the couple even if only one of you is going to be bankrupt? Do they want to see the other spouses' bank account? Can anyone give me a detailed account of what happens when you are a couple and this only happens to one of you. Our home is in negative equity so there is no profit to be made there either.
I do not want to do anything to put my husband or my family in harms way. My husband is the only one earning at the moment and he is paying out all the expenses, mortgage bills etc. I am looking for another job.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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Edited by - Mspraise1 on 20 February 2009 13:19:21 |
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Melanie.n
forum expert
United Kingdom
1282 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 13:26:02
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Hello and welcome to the forum
When only one party goes bankrupt their whole 'sole' debts are included in the bankruptcy plus the whole amount of any 'joint' debt. The non bankrupt party is responsible for their own remaining sole debt plus the whole of the joint debt - people often think if the have a joint loan for £10k they each are liable for £5k but in reality you are each liable for £10k.
With regard to your home if the situation is that the property is in a negative or no equity situation the Official Receiver will send out a letter offering you to purchase the 'Beneficial Interest' in the property (when a person goes bankrupt under their name at the land registry on the property deeds the OR's name will be recorded this is called beneficial interest - the peroson can no longer sign to sell the property only the OR can on their behalf)the beneficial interest is offered to the non bankrupt party (or 3rd party) for £1 plus £211 costs which then removes the OR's name from the deeds at the said Land Registry which means the OR no longer has any interest in the home and it won't be taken from you.
Obviously you must maintain your mortgage and any secured loan payments on the property - or you risk losing your home
I hope this helps, if you want further claification please feel free to ask away
Melanie Nicholas
28 years insolvency experience - 23 of which in the Insolvency Service
- Insolvency Manager
Jones Giles
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mab
New Member
56 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 13:30:58
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Hi
Sorry to hear about your situation, but you have found the right site to get some useful advice and I am sure an expert will be along soon.
I cant answer all your questions but I believe I am right in saying that the Or will only be interested in your share of the equity if the property is jointly owned, for instance if you had £5k equity then your share would be £2500 and this is what the Or would be looking for, this equity could be brought by a third party on your behalf allowing you to stay in the house, if you have no equity I believe you would need to pay £1.00 plus legal fees which I think are around £211
Sorry I cant offer more advice but im sure an expert will be along soon. |
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mab
New Member
56 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 13:32:49
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| Ah Melanie you are very quick with your responses today, it wasn't there when I started replying!!! |
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Mspraise1
Junior Member
United Kingdom
204 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 13:44:33
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Thank you Meaine and Mab for your advice.
Will I be able to get a quick bankruptcy the one that last for 1 year because I currently have no job?
Will the OR want to dig into my husband's finances? His bank account and all that?
There is no equity in our house at all in fact we had it valued (so I could present this to the OR) and its lost £30,000 in value and we also have a secured loan against the the property. We have never missed a mortgage payment. We want to be able to stay in our home because of my children who are very young. The house is in joint names and I would like my interest in it to go to my husband to secure it as best we can. But there is absolutely no equity in the home at the moment. This is the thing I fear the most is being forced to sell the home if I am declared bankrupt. My debts are in the region of £60,000 and now with no job I am unable to continue to pay my creditors.
I did get some redundancy money but we lived off this for the last 3 months and there is none left, hence another reason to go bankrupt. Will I need to give account of how the redundancy money was spent? |
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got there
Junior Member
United Kingdom
461 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 13:53:53
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Hi there, as regards the quick BR there is no such thing all BR last for 1 year now.
I was the only one who went BR hubby didnt - i had to give 12 months bank statements he didnt have to provide anything at all as it was me and not him they were investigating as it were.
As long as you can show your redundancy money has gone on living expenses there shouldnt be a problem
HTH
GT x |
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mab
New Member
56 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 14:00:18
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Hi
It sounds to me like you should have no problem with your house and if there is no equity you will just need to arrange for your husband to pay the £1.00 plus legal fees as and when the OR requests it.
As far as the length of the Bankruptcy you would automatically be discharged after 1 year, regardless of your situation.
I know how you must be feeling right now, I have my court date on Monday the only advice that I can give you is to ask any questions you have and try not to worry to much, from what you have said I really dont think you will have a problem with your house, and this forum will provide you with the peace of mind, its always better to deal your finances head and to take hold of your future.
I am a firm believer that there is always a solution to your situation and with the experts help on this forum you will hopefully be able to ease any worrys you might have. |
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Mspraise1
Junior Member
United Kingdom
204 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 14:25:30
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What happened to me was I had a date to go bankrupt and I had closed my bank account and transferred my salary into my hubsand's account in readiness for bankruptcy. But I was made redudnant before the date of my bankruptcy case. So all monies paid to me in the last 3 months have been paid into his bank account.
So do you think I will need to provide 12 months statements still? Is this standard practice? I can prove where the payments of the redundancy money went I still have my receipts. But I also kept paying my creditors because I had not gone bankgrupt. Do they ask for proof of where your redundancy money went? I thought you had to prove your outgoings and what your income was. Plus I will have to change my petition because I filled in the details whilst I had a full-time job. So won't I have to amend that now because I have outgoings yes but no income any longer?
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Edited by - Mspraise1 on 20 February 2009 14:54:19 |
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Melanie.n
forum expert
United Kingdom
1282 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 14:58:04
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You will need to redo your forms to reflect your circumstances at filing - the fact that you are no longer working is an important change - do it online a the insolvency service website
Melanie Nicholas
28 years insolvency experience - 23 of which in the Insolvency Service
- Insolvency Manager
Jones Giles
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Mspraise1
Junior Member
United Kingdom
204 Posts |
Posted - 20 February 2009 : 16:39:03
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| Thanks Melanie, I will re-do my forms to reflect current position. Thanks to you all for your help and contributions. Will let you know how it turns out. |
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Mspraise1
Junior Member
United Kingdom
204 Posts |
Posted - 28 February 2009 : 21:04:23
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I have now been give a date for my bankruptcy hearing. 30 March 2009 at 10am.
Any words of advice on what to be doing until that date?
Thanks! |
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Topic |
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One spouse goes bankrupt
