Bankruptcy whilst married

[mindspace]

Hi

 

I've been separated from my wife for almost 2 years and am in the process of filing for divorce.

 

I want to go bankrupt but technically i'm still married. My question is can I go bankrupt by myself or do I have to wait until i'm divorced?

 

Thanks

[Guest wino]

Hi mindspace and welcome to CAG:)

 

I have had a quick 'google' and read that whilst you are still married your wifes assets house, car, valueable goods will be taken into consideration in your bankruptcy. So I thought it would best to divorce first before going bankcrupt. However reading further it seems that from 2007 the divorced partner of a bankcrupt MAY be chased for the ex partners debts for upto 5 years from divorce.

 

Hopefully someone with first hand knowlege will be along soon to be able to offer advice.

 

On the bankcruptcy issue. Is it your only option? If you give us an outline of your debts we may be able to help you sort through them.

[toddle2u]

It does not matter if you are divorced, married or single when you are made BR. What does matter is whose name the assets are in i.e. is property in joint name etc or in wife'ssole name what length of time has it been in her sole name etc

 

What sort of assets are we talking about?

[mindspace]

Thanks for the welcome and swift response Wino.

 

No real assets for either of us - we handed the house back to the mortgage co and our cars are worth next to nothing.

 

In terms of debt, it's pretty hefty:

 

£12k across 3 credit cards (all in my name only)

£17k remaining of mortgage after resale of the house by the mortgage company (obviously joint debt)

£18k in HP in just my name

Plus about £5k for unpaid private school fees and an old bank account.

 

I'm not sure there are many other options open to me TBH. Add to that we're both full time mature students at uni so not likely to be in a position to pay it back anytime soon.

 

Needless to say I'll be avoiding any form of credit in future

[debtinfo]

Then there is no need to wait, it wont make any difference

[loobyloo85]

You can by all means go bankrupt yourself, but as above, it will be the assets that would need to be declared, and as above, if you handed the house back to the mortgage company and have no joint assets, your ex will not be affected.

With regards to the joint £17K from the mortgage, I am assuming that as the property was handed back, that this is unsecured. If it is, your ex may be liable for an amount of this debt, but you would need to speak with the OR about this.

Your HP can be accounted for in your expenditure, so that you can continue to keep your vehicle. The debt for this is secured so woudl not be included in bankruptcy.

Therefore, you can enter bankruptcy with your unsecured debts and have them written off x

[toddle2u]

Your HP can be accounted for in your expenditure, so that you can continue to keep your vehicle. The debt for this is secured so woudl not be included in bankruptcy.

 

Am i missing something here? How can the HP debt be secured? Can't see it myself

[palomino]

Am i missing something here? How can the HP debt be secured? Can't see it myself

 

It's secured on whatever you purchased. Until it's fully paid for then the item isn't yours.

[toddle2u]

It's secured on whatever you purchased. Until it's fully paid for then the item isn't yours.

Ok undersatnd now was looking at it completely the wrong way. Was thinking is was secured against his home!