My wife has run up massive debts

[dave_t]

My wife has run up massive debts that I have/had no knowledge of. We are currently separated anticipating a divorce. Am I liable for her debts?

[catullus]

Put like that Dave, the answer has got to be no.

A husband is not responsible for the debts of his wife, although it could have an adverse affect on your credit rating

[sonyse2t5]

Dave,
Now you can have a good night sleep!

[pitbull]

Is that a true legal opinion? My wife and I jointly own a house. I advised her to seek an IVA to sort out her huge debt issues which I discovered recently because there is no way she will be able to repay them. I'm concerned that I will be dragged along and forced to pay off her debts as I've done many times before because technically we're still married for now. But I can't do it anymore and I'm worried about losing the house.

[catullus]

Yes it is, the way Dave structured his question.Have another look at his post.

A spouse cannot be liable for the debts of their partner unless they have entered in to an agreement to be jointly liable, or have guarateed the debts.

You mention owning a property jointly and so it is highly likely that any mortgage that you have is jointly owed. This is a case where you will both have signed the mortgage documents.

If there is equity in your house then your wife's share of the equity (but not yours) will need to be included in any deal with her creditors.

That can be acheived either by you buying her out (by way of remortgage) or the sale of the house with you keeping your share.

[pitbull]

Thanks catallus. I am Dave by the way, don't know why my member name changed to pitbull. Yes, the mortgage is jointly owned. Earlier this year i discovered my wife attempted to get a 90K loan secured against the house by forgery. After confronting her when I was made aware, I agreed to the loan because she presented me with huge debts. This wiped out all the equity, and i suppose I'm jointly liable for that now because I agreed to it. This loan represents 800 per month and she is paying it. However, I have since discovered she has incurred much more debt in the past 8 months, probably 25K worth - don't know why, hence the marriage is virtually over. However, I need to know where I stand with regards to my share in the house and mortgage balance. I don't want to lose thehouse and she can't repay her debts anymore and has already defaulted on the 90K loan twice.

[hara]

Dear Pitbull,

You are NOT,I repeat NOT liable to your wife's debts.

How she sorts her debt is her own problem.

If you own house jointly your half is safe so does the issue of any savings or assets you have. Her debts are her's only.

If you are seperated and divorcing I suggest that you do not bail her out any more.

It may be helpful for your wife to contact a good IP.

Do not get involved legally with her debt in any way,give all the advice you want to give.

Hara

[catullus]

Very importantly you need to understand whether you are a party to the £80k loan (you signed the loan agreement) or whether you simply consented to a charge against your share.

The relevence of this is that if ever there was a shortfall, you would be jointly liable for it,whereas if you simply consented to the charge you could walk away.

One way or the other, however, thr secured loans need to be paid otherwise eventually you will both face possession proceedings.

[pitbull]

My concern is the house and the additional 800per month secured loan. I know she can't pay it anymore and will default so I will have to pick that up as well as the full mortgage payment, council tax, gas/elec. food etc. I need to keep a roof over the childrens heads and don't want to lose the house. She refuses to sign the house over to me but I'm still paying all the bills and she's still running up credit cards. There is no equity left in the house.

[pitbull]

Catallus, I signed the loan agreement after new documents were sent out replacing the forged ones. So I suppose I'm liable for it and I accept that. It was just another bail out for her but she seems intent on destroying me financially.

[catullus]

But is your name on the secured loan agreement?

[pitbull]

Yes, The loan company sent out new documents to replace the forged ones and when confronted with the reason for the loan and the debts, I signed them.

[catullus]

We crossed in the post.

Dave, under those circumstances, you've got no options other than to continue to pay the secured lender.

At this stage I wouldn't have thought that ownership is particularly important, as there is no equity. First priority is to deal with the separation/divorce and custody of the children and from what you say, I doubt that this can be done amicably.

In contested divorce proceedings the court will make a matrimonial order as to the division of assets taking in to consideration who will have custody of the children.

[pitbull]

I suppose you're right and that process is underway now. But if she is continuing to get credit cards/loans now, and she is already defaulting, will debt collectors/bailiffs come knocking on my door and will I be in any way liable for these additional debts other than what I've already committed too with her previous 90K loan. I can't afford to pay any more.

[catullus]

Yup, if she is in that much trouble the debt collection process will certainly escalate and her creditors will be likely to enter CCJ's against her.

In reality bailiffs are a relatively rare phenonemon but persistent calls and door step visits are certainly likely.

She will be feeling the pressure, no doubt, and perhaps she should consider BKR, which will take some of the heat off her and shouldn't have too much impact on you, from what you've said.