Help with an ex and unpaid debts?

Question

I was with my ex partner for 9 years, we have two kids together and a mortgage together. But a couple of weeks ago i found out that there was a loan (not secured on house) was not paid by my ex as the debt was in his name. but the creditor has gone to the court to ask that if the house gets sold that 10K (which he owes) goes to them.

But my ex doesn't live at the house any longer and he is selling the car that has caused the problem, Seeing as the debt is on the house i have to lose 10K does that mean that when my ex sells the car he has to give me half the money when the car is sold

Answer 1

If you were married and got divorced then he would have to give you half of everything.

Since he is just a boyfriend, he can take it and leave with it.

Considering the years you two spent together it could be filed as a "divorce".

You did say that it isn't secured on the house. So therefore, the creditor can't get the money from the sell of the house.

Since you two weren't married the debt is on him only. So any of your things is out of the question.

Answer 2

Well, you say you have a house and mortgage together.  I assume that in the split you are staying in the house as you have the kids.  Has a legal agreement been drawn up for this.  i.e. if your ex is still on the deeds and mortgage then he still has a claim on the house himself.  If he is only on the mortgage and not the deeds then he doesn't.  

The creditor is assuming that because the house and mortgage are in both your names, if it is sold then your ex will receive his share from the sale.  The creditor can't make you sell the house (as the loan is not secured on the house).

If you don't have any legal and written agreement in place where your ex has given up all claim on the house then the creditor is well within their rights to request this.  If you have a written agreement in place which was done before the creditor went to court then the court would need to be aware of that.

I'd say you really need to get some proper, legal advice as it could be quite complicated depending on the circumstances of your split.  But I don't think you would automatically be entitled to funds from the sale of your ex's car, even though this is what the loan in his name was for.

Answer 3

Your question has been reproduced here to preserve the original fact pattern to which this answer applies:

"Help with an ex and unpaid debts? I was with my ex partner for 9 years, we have two kids together and a mortgage together. But a couple of weeks ago i found out that there was a loan (not secured on house) was not paid by my ex as the debt was in his name. but the creditor has gone to the court to ask that if the house gets sold that 10K (which he owes) goes to them."

"But my ex doesn't live at the house any longer and he is selling the car that has caused the problem, Seeing as the debt is on the house i have to lose 10K does that mean that when my ex sells the car he has to give me half the money when the car is sold?"

The quick answer to your question is "He doesn't have to give you half of the proceeds on the sale of the car."  And unless you live in a state that recognizes common law marriages, you are probably not going to be very happy with the rest of this answer.

You say "ex partner," so I assume that you were not married.  You say that you have a mortgage together, so I assume that he owns half of the house with you-- that it is in both your names.

Just because your ex doesn't live at the house any longer doesn't mean that he doesn't still have a legal interest in it.  And as long as your ex has a legal interest in the house, his creditors can attempt to place a lien on the asset to secure payment of your ex's debt.

You have a 50% interest in the house.  So, if the house were sold, you would get half of the proceeds.  The lien is on your ex's half of the proceeds; He would get 50% minus the lien amount.  You could also agree with each other that you deserved more than 50% for various reasons-- but he'd still be responsible for the amount of the lien.

Notice that I haven't mentioned the car.  You aren't entitled to any monies that your ex gets for the car-- or for anything else except the house.  You aren't married, so you basically have a partnership involving a piece of real estate-- nothing more.  And you haven't suffered an actual loss until you attempt to sell your house-- and then you'd do so with your ex since it's legally half his.

If you want to avoid problems like this, you'd have to buy out his interest or have him sign over his interest to you (and you'd get the lien along with it unless the deal included him paying off the lien too).  If you want the lien to go away, you'd have to pay his creditor (or again, have him agree to pay them as part of the deal).  That would probably involve a rewriting or refinancing of the mortgage too-- to get your ex's name off it.  Either way, you'd end up with just your name on the house and mortgage afterwards-- and then none of his creditors could attempt to place a lien on your house.

Until then, your ex's interest in the house-- when it's sold-- would be reduced by the amount of the lien.

[This is not legal advice. You should consult a licensed attorney-at-law for legal advice or representation before making decisions that may affect your legal rights.]

Answer 4

All these fancy cars you see with private number plates on (NOB1 etc etc) it is ALL debt to try to impress the Joneses. Who are these f~cking Joneses anyway?????? My 12 year old banger is paid for and still gets me from A to B.

Answer 5

Hiya - You put in your post that the loan was NOT secured on the house, and not in your name, so I guess you don't have any liability? Unless you were married of course and thats a different story.

I would recommend you go to Citizens Advice where you can speak to a professional about your situation and get some proper advice. Good luck with everything x

Answer 6

The answer from ParaNYC is broadly correct (and very detailed), although he's looking at it from the perspective of American legislation, which is not that different from the UK.

The creditor is entitled to charge your ex-partner's legal interest in the proceeds of sale (when sold, that is) with the debt owed.  It does not affect your interest in the property.

You do not lose £10k.  You lose nothing.

You have no legal interest in the proceeds of sale of the car.

I hope this is clear.