Getting exDP off the mortgage

[SheRasBra]

Looking for some help for an old girlfriend. She was in a relationship for some years and had 2 kids with her DP. He then abandoned her and ran off with someone else.

He originally kept up his half of the mortgage payments but in recent years has stopped and she is paying it alone. He has had no contact with his kids at all.

She has now received a letter saying he owes HMRC loads of money and that they may force a sale of the house as his name is on the mortgage. She can pay the mortgage in RL but her earnings are not enough for the current company's mortgage calculator to be allowed to hold it alone.

Any advice for her? I think she would just like to be completely rid of him. She thinks he has a number of other kids so going after him for child maintenance was never a good bet.

Hi It's the fact that he owns half the house that is the problem
She needs proper legal advice from a solicitor that knows about insolvency law
Is there much equity in the house
If he sequestrated she might be able to buy out his share of the equity for a reduced sum

Thanks user. I don't know whose name is on the deeds but I suspect it's both. They live out in the sticks in a very modest place so I doubt there's much equity but I know my friend can't manage anything smaller.

That's good advice - I will suggest she gets some proper advice. Think she has asked but told that she can get some kind of legal protection against seizure while the kids are under 18 but that will cost her quite a lot to put in place. She really deserves a break. He's been such a shit.

If they're both on the mortgage then HMRC only have a claim over half the property's value. She may not be able to get him 'off' the mortgage if HMRC have already put a 'charge' over it. Why has she received a letter about his HMRC debt? Don't they know where he is?

HMRC are unlikely to enforce a sale while she still has dependent children at home

He seems to have disappeared so guess they are sending letters to his last known address.