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I am on the brink of declaring myself bankrupt. I am in about £20k debt with a few creditors and have just been offered sponsorship to work and live indefinately in Australia in the next few months.
I own a house which is a joint mortgage with my mum, I want to declare bankruptcy, but DO NOT want her to be victim to my bad credit.
Obviously being in another country poses no concearn for me and my credit score, as i will be starting a-fresh over there.
What i want to know is:
Can I go bankrupt without befouling my mum's credit score due to flat reposession?
What is the likelyhood of being accepted and not having any legal action follow me overseas?
What is to stop you borrowing prior to declaring bankruptcy? Will these actions lead to criminal prossecution?

Please, please, please help... I have so many concearns untop of trying to arrange a new life in Oz.

If your mortgage is in joint names with your mum, could she not buy your share of the house and enable you to pay off your debts?
If you declare bankruptcy and there is a decent ammount of equity in the house, you would both stand to lose it anyway.

mrs skint

If there is equity in the property, then your bankruptcy is bound to affect your mother as the Trustee will need to realise this asset for the benefit of your creditors. This will not affect her credit score, but it has wider implications if she is faced with losing her home.

And you should not borrow any more money if you know that you will be unable to repay it. I suggest that you have a good chat with your Mum about your finances, get the property valued so that you both know where you are with regard to equity, and she if she is in a position to buy out your share.

I have only had the flat for about a year so there is no equity in it it really. I was advised after all those ridiculous fees that come with selling it, I would only really see about 1 or 2k of the equity.
It is on the market and tennanted, so I'm hoping for a quick sale, which will be the easiest solution I think.
If I go bankrupt now, I am worried that, due to the mortgage tie between my mum and I, that they'll try pinning the debt on her and my family home.
I was wondering, if I do sell it, can I give the small amount of equity to my mum, as she is on the mortgage?
She only came onboard to increase my borrowing capacity and has no interest in buying my share from me whatso ever.
At the time I had every intention of having the flat a long time, but obviously this Oz thing is a brighter horizon.

All I want is to be able to lead a new life in Oz with no horrible repercussions.
I am still unsure if bankruptcy will follow me over there, I hope it doesn't.

Thanks again for your advice!

I can't think why you would want to give your share of the equity to your Mum when you are in debt. You might be better using the small amount of money to pay for your bankruptcy in the UK, and then make a fresh start in Australia debt free.

Can you mum pay the mortgage on her own ?

if there is no equity {its shared 50/50} then its possible that the OR will allow your mum to buy out your equitable interest for a nominal fee plus the fee.. Mum might not need to move.

I wouldn't worry about your credit file, your mum can disassociate from you.