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Hello
I am about £30.000 in debt, loans and credit cards. I am married however none of my debts are with my husband. He owns a house, however my name is not on the mortgage? If I were to take out an IVA or to go bankrupt, what is the legal stance for my husband to be involved in this?
Thanks

Hi lisajh

Your husband's income will be taken into account in calculating your combined family income, and your percentage of the total income will be used as a marker for the percentage of the shared household bills and living expenses which are paid. So if you own a third of the income, you should only pay a third of the bills.

Does your husband know about your debts?

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Yes, he knows about my debt, however he does not want anything to do with it, or help to help me out. We may be splitting up over this, but has said I can stay in the house at the moment

I'm sorry to hear that this is affecting your relationship, and that your husband is refusing to help. If you do legally separate, and this leads to divorce, then you are very likely to be awarded a portion of your husband's equity. The amount will depend on the amount of time you have been married, whether you have any children and the contribution you may have deemed to have made to the property during the years that you have been married.

What did you spend the £30,000 on? Just yourself, or did your husband benefit from any of the borrowings?

Given the uncertainty of your circumstances at present, I would not be recommending that you enter into an IVA until the future is more certain for you.


Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

The money was spent before I met him, it has now just got out of control with repayments.
My name is not on the mortgage, and I would not feel comfortable with contesting this. We have only been married for just over one year.
It is not for certain that we will separate, however he does not want to help with any of my debt

OK - he is not being asked to contribute directly, but an IP will want to be sure that you are paying a fair share of household and living expenses in accordance with the level of your respective incomes - this of course assumes that you carry on living together.

Given the uncertainty of your situation, and your position regarding the property, you may find that bankruptcy proceedings are more appropriate to give you that badly needed fresh start. It is amazing how much being in debt can affect your relationship, and you have to prioritise this as a number one!

Hope it all works out for you. For more specific advice, I suggest you contact any of the experts on the forum.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Many, many thanks for your help and support

really sorry about your situation Lisa

I hope it all works out for you. You are dealing with the debt issue now and should be proud of that.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

LILY

Thanks Lily, its good to know that there are others out there too.

I was thinking of going to the Citizens Advice - would you say it was a good idea?

I would agree here, lisa, the fact is, your not really sure what is going to happen re the relationship, you must be under a great deal of stress. Lisa, dont be ashamed, you have already taken the hardest step, admitting and wanting to deal with the problem, I am sure there will be an answer out there for you. If you can draw some help from the CAB please do so. We are always here for you whenever you need advise, a cry or a rant, hang in there.
I am not an expert just another person in debt.

Good luck and keep posting

LILY

lisa sorry to hear of your situation, i hope everything works out for you, i would definitely visit the CAB and look at all options open to you, your husband should commend you for taking your head out of the sand and trying to deal with your problem,
good luck and keep posting
kerri

Please view my blog at: http://scaredkez.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Hi Kerri
Thanks so much for the support, keep thinking about it all of the time, but going to the CAB this week, so hopefully get some more answers thern
Take care
Lisa x

dont worry lisa

something will work out for you, its hard but possible and your doing something about it.

LILY