bankrupsy

[smythsan]

iam in a lot of debt and was wondering if i go bankrupt would my husband be liable to pay the debt even thoe its not in his name (could they look to him to pay it)
thanks

[caz247]

if none of the debt is in his name then no they can't hold him liable but if the property you live in is mortgaged then it can be sold to pay towards the debts. you would be better setting up an IVA instead of bankruptcy

[themas]

1. If you own a house (even if it is just in your husband's name) it could be taken if you go bankrupt, whether it is mortgaged or not. Look at the relevant booklet on the Insolvency Service site.
2. If you go bankrupt it is personal to you. Normally, only your own income and expenditure should go down on the forms but if your finances and those of your husband are linked (e.g. you have joint bank accounts) the Official Receiver might consider that your husband's income should be taken into account in determining whether you can afford to make any payments to your creditors. If this happened, he would be paying off part of your debts through the bankruptcy (he would never have any liability direct to your creditors). This is not necessarily going to happen, but you might need to argue your case strongly. It might be preferable to make sure all finances are separate before going bankrupt.
3. An IVA might be better but you must have a reasonable amount (�100 - �150 p. mth) that you could guarantee to pay to the creditors. Do not go to any firm that wants an upfront fee to do an IVA.
4. You could get advice from CCCS, Payplan, National Debtline or local CAB.

[flipflop104]

When someone I know went bankrupt, they were *advised* that if it could be proved that the man in the relationship (he was not the one going bankrupt) may have to help pay some of the debts if it was proved that he benefitted from the money that had been spent by the woman (and that had accrued the subsequent debts).