Letter for XH - commencing bankruptcy proceedings!

[moonchaser]

Brief outline, in middle of divorce(its been a looong process so far!) Still haven't done financial disclosure due to H dragging his feet over it.

Yesterday I came home to a letter for him from a credit agency in regards to a 2k credit card debt. It states that they are now advising their client to commence bankruptcy proceedings against him.

DC and I still live in the marital home which is in joint names. H has his own limited company. He has other credit card debts and mortgage is 2k in arreas also (have spoken to mortgage company and have been to CAB in regards to that) but this is only in regards to one credit card it seems.

If they go ahead with the proceedings what will it mean with regards to the house? I have no idea about bankruptcy or what it could mean for us. Keep thinking its a smallish debt to be going down that route.

A credit or debt collection agency cannot commence bankruptcy proceedings in order to recover a debt. However, they could potentially sue your husband and, if successful, this might require the sale of assets to settle the judgement.

Keep getting legal advice on the specifics of your case and try to put pressure on him to speed up the financial disclosure. If he genuinely has no assets other than the property and if he is in a lot of debt and arrears then selling it may be the only realistic way to settle matters.

Sorry.. my mistake.. I should have said that debt collection agencies can instruct solicitors to commence bankruptcy proceedings but this is usally as a last resort and, because it's expensive, usually only when the money owed is very high. The letter he has had (and does he know you've opened it?) sounds like they are trying to frighten him into paying.

Still get legal advice.

Thanks, Il speak to my solicitor when she is back in the office on Monday. Am hoping he will speak to this company and try to resolve the matter asap. Have been trying to get financial disclosure done for a year now! Still not any closer to that side of divorce being resolved.

Yes he knows I have opened it - this is not a issue, I usually sort through post of his and only give him the important stuff. He is very head in the sand and if I gave him a load of mail unopened without instruction on what was what it would never be dealt with!

The word bankruptcy gave me a scare tbh. The house is going to have to be sold as part of divorce but we have a lot of equity and the thought of loosing it all sent me into panic!

It sounds like, if you really want to get things moving, you're going to have to move him out of the home. You say he's the head in the sand type and, to be honest, it sounds like it's being facilitated - you doing the triage on his mail, nice place to live, no real change in lifestyle except a different bedroom etc. And maybe this means he's not motivated to settle? If he was in a flat all by himself with the nasty letters piling up on the mat and feeling a bit miserable about everything it might be the incentive he needed to get his finger out?

I think its dragged out for many reasons, I have had one solicitor leave and then the next gone on long term sick leave so I now have another one looking after my case. She agrees that there shoult be some time constraint on how long we wait for him in regards to financial disclosure.

He doesnt live at the marital home thats just me and the DC he lives with OW at his parents house. Why he isnt getting on with the divorce I dont know.

Im hoping that this letter is just a scare to get him to make some kind of contact with the debt collection agency.