Debts and marriage

[inthebleakmidwinter]

I'm engaged to my partner.

he has never in his life got into debt and is worried that marrying me will make him liable for my debts, which I am currently repaying very slowly, due to my low income. I incurred all these debts long before I met him, mostly student loans.

Is he right to be worried?

Yes, he is right to have a serious think about this, but he need not be worried.
If you marry, he would become liable for your debts, which would not be good for him, and probably not for you.
A way round this is to sign a prenuptial agreement with regard to the debt, ie, you agree to pay back this particular debt by yourself. Maybe this may help?

er no, he won't become liable for any of your debts.

You don't need a pre-nup.

Go to www.debtquestions.co.uk for more advice onto the DEBT Forum part of it.

Good luck

Thanks for your replies.

Some of the debts are for large amounts -think thousands- and at the moment the interest is frozen and I'm paying them back slowly but surely.

We already live together, so our finances are joined but DF is worried that marrying me will see an end to this informal arrangement and the creditors will come after him.

We aren't well off and this would cripple us,.

No, they're YOUR debts not his. He will not become responsible for them in any way and will not be affiliated with you credit-wise, unless you apply for joint credit or a joint bank account.

If creditors do try to come after him, and they might, because some are unscrupulous, he just needs to tell them that he is not legally responsible for the debt.

I have a bad credit record and I've been very careful to keep myself separate from my fiance credit-wise. Financially, we both contribute to the running of the house, but my debts are my debts. We're both named on utility bills, our tenancy agreement and our council tax bill, but that doesn't link us together for credit purposes.

If you're really concerned, I'd advise ringing the Consumer Credit Counselling Service - www.cccs.co.uk. They'll be able to reassure both of you.