could the trustee still force me to sell my home

[carol.h]

Catullus,

I have at least £125000 equity in my property, when i bought it 6 years ago other parties wanted to buy it too and i was under alot of pressure to complete, i tried to get a mortgage on my own but because of my low income it proved difficult, i was in danger of losing the house so my ex agreed to help, in name only. I live in a very 'desirable' village where affordable housing is very rare, my children are settled here, that is why i was so desparate to stay in the village of my birth, I realise now i made a mistake, but my ex was in a 'job for life' at the time, but his alcoholism took hold, the rest is history! I haven't received any maintenance for the past 3 years.

[MelanieGiles]

I suggest that you find yourself a solicitor who will take on legal aid cases! But speak to the Official Reciever firstly to find out what his position is.

I feel that you have a strong case, but you need to assess the strength of the other side. To be frank, I am amazed that your solicitor is not dealing with this 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

[catullus]

Hello Carol

I agree with Melanie that this is a matter that only a solicitor can sort out for you, and I'm very reluctant to speculate without knowing more.

To instruct that solicitor properly you need to tell them what the OR's position is, so that's your first port of call.

When you do find out what the OR's position is feel free to sound us out again before trying to find a solicitor.

Best of luck!

[carol.h]

Hello again Melanie & catallus,
Have had a lengthy chat with the trustee this morning, it seems things may not be as black as i thought, my ex part owned his mother's house and when she died 2 years ago he should have settled his IVA but chose not to, instead he split the profit with his 2 brothers and sister, they all received £36k, as that was his main asset they too will be pursued for some of the debt, so the £50k debt should be split 4 ways, if this avenue is successful i should only be looking at finding £12500, which i feel is a much more manageable figure, an amount i could perhaps re-mortgage for!

Thanks to all who have offered advice, it's been very helpful and it's always good to talk.

Take care
Carol x

[catullus]

That's good news. Keep us posted with developments. It's an "interesting" one from an IP's point of view although I'm sure that you don't want to hear that!!

[MelanieGiles]

That's an IP's exam question, Catallus!

Carol - I would make the Trustee a small offer of settlement on the basis that they may not be minded to fight you through the Courts, but do be careful of incurring legal costs yourself. Why not try £5,000 and see if they can be tempted.

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

[carol.h]

Melanie and Catallus,

I had absolutely no idea that my ex's brother's and sister would be pursued for part of the debt, i'm in shock, can it really happen? The trustee tells me that as there was no will and no probate this is the course of action he will take, the house belonged to my ex and he should have settled his debts first, his siblings were aware if his IVA. My ex sister-in-law has already contacted a solicitor and has said she will fight it, how much success is she likely to have? what a tangled web!

Carol

[mish1953]

Mel - remind me NEVER to play poker with you !

Mish

[MelanieGiles]

Hi Carol

Without knowing or understanding all of the facts, it appears that your ex-husband has committed an unlawful act, by giving away an asset partly to his relatives, which I assume occured before his bankruptcy. This can be overturned by the Trustee, who is obviously in the process of pursuing this.

Your relatives are not being pursued for your husband's debt - but rather the assets that he gave away in the knowledge that he was insolvent. I would have thought that the Trustee has every chance of getting a successful Order at Court, but his success of pursuing the monies will be dependent on whether your relatives have spent them or not, or have assets of their own which could be pursued.

In the meantime I would still continue to hold our that your husband has no interest in the property, but you might have to cross the Trustee's palm with silver to pursuade him to drop the case against you, and at least this will buy you piece of mind and certainty for the future.

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

[carol.h]

Many thanks again melanie, very interesting, thank you for explaining
the ins and outs of the pursuet of my ex's assets, i understand it all much more clearly now. My in-laws treated me very badly after i separated from my husband, so i say 'what goes around comes around'

Regards Carol