Girlfriend is considering bankruptcy - does she any claim over my house?

[ths01]

Hi LBs.

My girlfriend is considering bankruptcy, but we want to know if this could affect me at all. Where do I stand, could my house be seen as partly her asset?

Here is the situation:

• My girlfriend of 4 years has around £15,000 of debt. Around £3,000 of her debt is Council Tax arrears from her previous addresses.
• 99% of her overall debt was accrued before we were together and 100% of it, not to my knowledge.
• There are a number of creditors, lots of debt is linked to catalogues, mobile phones and Sky.
• She suffers from mental health issues (Bipolar) and has not been able to work this year.
• She had serious health problems earlier this year, linked to this debt - which saw a hospital stay.
• She has a son, who is 10. She receives monthly child benefit of around £80, plus occasional (and small) maintenance payments from her ex-partner (unfortunately his payments aren't reliable at all, so £20-30 per month at best).
• She has no other income at present due to her health issues.
• We live together in my house. It is my mortgage, I am the sole person named, I contributed the whole deposit, I pay the Council Tax and everything is up to date.
• She moved in fully, 3-4 months after I purchased the house, so has lived with me for around 2.5 years.
• Due to her health problems I pay all bills, including the mortgage, and provide as much as possible to pay for our pets and her and her sons needs.
• There have only been sporadic periods when she has been able to contribute to the household bills since we have lived together. I would estimate only £500-800 at the very most.

So, right now she has little or no way to pay back her debt. I have helped her with CAP and StepChange to assess the situation and I am currently paying a small amount per week to keep the ball rolling on the Council Tax arrears front as a goodwill gesture. We know this is the priority debt. I will shortly be arranging to pay £1 per month to all other creditors to at least show a willingness to pay debts whilst considering bankruptcy.

Thanks in advance.

[Debt Camel]

Re: Girlfriend is considering bankruptcy - does she any claim over my house?

What did StepChange say? I am asking because from what you have written one debt solution that could work well for her is a Debt Relief Order, see http://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/dro/. Are there any reasons StepChange think a DRO isn't suitable - this could be because she has a car worth over £1000? or perhaps she is very unclear about her debts and is worried that she couldn't get a complete list?

But to answer your question, nothing you have said suggests to me that your house may be at risk. See: http://debtcamel.co.uk/partner-bankrupt/

[ths01]

Re: Girlfriend is considering bankruptcy - does she any claim over my house?

Hi DC. Thank you very much for this information.

In answer to your questions:
1. Are there any reasons StepChange think a DRO isn't suitable?
None given, just that Temp payment agreement or Bankruptcy were the best options. Due to her mental health problems even a very low Temp payment agreement with her debtors is unlikely to be kept to other a fair period of time.
2. Does she have a car worth over £1000?
No, she doesn't drive. She has very little by way of possessions, just her clothing and jewellery (again nothing of substantial value jewellery-wise), and no savings.
3. Is she unclear about her debts?
Over the last year I've done my best to help pull together all info on her debts with her. I believe we're at least 95% of the way there.

Thanks. I'm going to look to meet with our local CAB to discuss the debts and also StepChange. I will bring up the DRO.

[Debt Camel]

Re: Girlfriend is considering bankruptcy - does she any claim over my house?

I think she/you should call StepChange ans ask whether she would qualify for a DRO. If they say not, ask why.

[ths01]

Re: Girlfriend is considering bankruptcy - does she any claim over my house?

Thanks. We'll get on to that.