I am cohabiting with my partner, she owns the house we live in and we have lived there together for 10 years, my name is not on the mortgage but i have been making monthly payments to her as my side of the monthly bills etc. One of my creditors recently decided to try and make me bankrupt, saying they were convinced that even though my name wasnt on the mortgage i had an interest in the property and as there was plenty of equity in the house. I owed them £7000 but with the help of my partner getting a loan they have accepted a reduced offer of £3000. Im just asking if its right that even though im not on the mortgage could the they have forced kim into selling the house to recover the debt and that if she refused they could have forced her into bankruptcy?
The Official Receiver/ trustee in this case normally has no claim to any equity in the property, they could try to argue that the bankrupt partner has contributed to the equity in the property, and could try and claim an interest, however to succeed the onus will be upon the official Receiver/ Trustee to provide evidence to support such a claim, (ie they prove the interest you do not have to prove anything) therefore it would be extremely unlikley for a trustee to press ahead with a financial claim.
Chances are if you have lived in the house for 10 yrs the OR would say that you have a beneficial interest (BI) in the property as you have resided there for so long.
If the property has equity and the OR decides you do have BI then they would want to release your part of the equity (50%) to pay to your creditors.
I am cohabiting with my partner
Posted - 13 August 2009 : 10:07:04
