I am in the mioddle of a very acrimonious divorce. Most of the debt I have was incurred by my estranged wife (some of it fraudently- now under enquiry with police and the banks involved)and the accounts are in joint names. My wife refuses to pay any of the debt at all and will not agree a financial settlement. The debt is now unmanageable. If I apply for an IVA would these debts be included.
I have taken steps to prevent further use of any credit cards by my wife and there has been no recent additional charges made to these by her but banks refuse to close or freeze the joint bank accounts/loans. (At the decree nisi stage but not got decree absolute yet). If these joint account debts were included could my wife make changes to the accounts or withdraw money (increase the overdraft). If so what effect would this have on the IVA arrangemnts?
Hi E.d and welcome to the forum, I would suggest that you talk with a professional or two to ensure you get some case specific impartial advice, we do have some expert posters who will be along later or tomorrow.
Why not look at www.iva.com for a list of companies and some reviews, always speak with more than one to ensure that impartial free advice.
They will answer all your questions, in the meantime an expert may come along and give some expert advice. x
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free future.
E.d - if you enter the iVA - joint debt (bank accounts)you wife will become liable and bank may persue to wife for this full debt.
Your part of the debt will be enter into the IVA including credit cards.
(assuming the credit cards are in your name)
It may be worth ensuring you open your own account in your own name (get your wages etc paid direct) ensure the new account is Not with a Bank Group you owe money to.
No sure about desputed debt - i assume this wont be entered in the proposal until the legality is cleared up .
Hi E.d - I'm not sure what happens with debts which are under investigation. You can enter an iva to manage your liability for the debts and your wife will need to sort herself out separately. The financial settlement is one for the matrimonial courts rather than the IP. There are lots of good IPs at www.iva.com xx
It is extremely unlikely that lenders will agree to remove your name from debts that were fraudulently incurred in your name without there being a criminal conviction. My experience of the police authorities is that there is a strong possibility that they will have insufficient evidence to refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service and, even if they did, it could take 2/3 years to come to trial.
If so, and if you have to deal with your debt position now, you will have to include any debts that you claim were fraudulently incurred in your name. These could be included within an IVA.
If you did enter in to an IVA, any joint debts with your wife would be "ruled off" at the time that your IVA was approved meaning that any further credit taken by your wife would be in her name alone. In practise, however, the facility would more likely be withdrawn and the lender would ask your ex wife for her proposals as to how she would pay off the debt, regardless of what they may receive from your IVA.
I would certainly seek advice from the link posted above by BOL.
You need to get your finances sorted out as soon as possible and let the authorities deal with your wife.
I do agree with ginger that you should get another bank account now. The joint accounts would go into the IVA and your wife pursued for the whole of any debt. They banks would very likely close these accounts.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
