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Original poster

If I were to be made bankrupt how would this affect my husband

23 replies

Fillyjonk · 24/04/2007 17:18

I am not planning to do this!

I am thinking of becoming a trustee for a charity without the limitation that means trustees are liable for only £1.

(one of my first actions will, of course, be to sort this. Any suggestions appreciated)

but

bankruptcy

we have a house in his name, joint bank account with nothing really in it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Fillyjonk · 24/04/2007 17:36

bump

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Original poster
Fillyjonk · 24/04/2007 21:07

bump

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dmo · 25/04/2007 12:06

i think he would have to sort it
my friends dad died resenly and she had to sort all his finance out as she was next of kin

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 25/04/2007 16:55

no but

if i were bankrupt would it mean there was any claim on his property?

cos of being married and all?

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NotQuiteCockney · 25/04/2007 17:03

Woah, is that something charities can have? I am trustee of one, haven't looked into it ...

Pixiefish · 25/04/2007 17:04

no. your debt would be your debt. you cannot be held responsible for your husband

piglit · 25/04/2007 17:08

I'm not sure why you think you'd be made bankrupt. Are you giving some sort of guarantee?

It's very complicated and would take ages to go over it all but essentially if you were bankrupt then he could buy out your share of the house from your trustee in bankruptcy. If he couldn't afford it then your trustee might go to court for an order to sell your home - they might get it but might not. If they don't get the order then they'll slap a restriction on the property stopping you from doing anything with it without the consent of your trustee. A lot depends on how much equity you have in the house, what other assets you have, your persoanl circumstances, who your creditors are etc etc etc.

whomovedmychocolate · 25/04/2007 17:09

Umm can I help. My husband is a retired insolvency practioner.....he's out tonight but I can ask him tomorrow and get you a definitive answer?

whomovedmychocolate · 25/04/2007 17:12

Umm that should have been practitioner.

piglit · 25/04/2007 17:14

Dh and I are IPs too!

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 25/04/2007 17:18

hmm i don't think thre is much chance of bankruptcy really, but the charity is in a bit of trouble generally and I want to cover my bases.

Our property is soly in his name (I've always had another property 400 miles away-long story-but didn't have spare capacity for mortgage). We do have a joint bank account but there is nothing in it really. I do technically have no assets, I suppose.

My only concern really is that if i became bankrupt, it could affect him, and thus our family home.

I do really want to do this trustee thing but am not gambling our home on it, bascially.

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Original poster
Fillyjonk · 25/04/2007 17:18

oh and there is a fair bit of equity-about 200k

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piglit · 25/04/2007 17:23

If the equity is in "his" property (IYSWIM) then no worries. Is he a guarantor for any debts you might have? Do you own many things jointly?

I really wouldn't worry too much. However, if there is a real prospect of bankruptcy as a result of taking this appointment then I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole tbh. Or else tell them you'll come on board if you aren't liable for debts incurred prior to your appointmant or perhaps tell them to sort out the possible bankruptcy issue before you join. Life's too short to worry about dealing with the fallout from other people's debts.

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 25/04/2007 17:37

aaargh see thing is its my son's kindergarten, someone needs to do this and there aren't many volunteers! realistically most of the current trustees will leave in the next year or two and i'd rather get on board now really and try to steer it a bit.

it sounds ok from the house pov.

oh can i just check, his pay goes into a joint account then out to the mortgage, does that matter at all?

there aren't any debts afaik.

do you know how i would go about sorting it out re limiting liability of trustees?

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Original poster
Fillyjonk · 25/04/2007 17:38

we own nothing jointly. everything is in his name really, simply because i moved in with him, not the other way round.

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Original poster
Fillyjonk · 25/04/2007 17:39

(i mean kindergarten has no debts. i know we have debts )

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ElenyaTuesday · 25/04/2007 18:34

Have you contributed to the house in any way - through the mortgage, helping towards paying for an extension, paying all of the household bills or some such?

If so, there is a possibility that you have acquired an interest in the property whether your name is on the deeds or not, in which case a trustee in bankruptcy might want to take it further. It's a tricky area!

piglit · 25/04/2007 18:35

I think the chances of a) a kindergarten going bust and b) it owing so much money that creditors come after the trustees are very very slim.

On the limited liabilty point I would suggest you speak to other trustees and see what their view is. They might be completely relaxed about the whole thing in which case I would take your lead from them.

The pay going into the joint account won't be a problem.

piglit · 25/04/2007 18:38

But any interest acquired like that will be a beneficial interest and not a legal one. They are notoriously difficult to prove and value. It would be a minefield for a trustee in bankruptcy (who only has limited funds available and might even be the official receiver if the kindergarten had no money) and would not be cost effective. The courts will come down very very hard on any trustee in bankruptcy who pursues speculative claims.

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 25/04/2007 19:33

"On the limited liabilty point I would suggest you speak to other trustees and see what their view is. They might be completely relaxed about the whole thing in which case I would take your lead from them. "

um no, i really don't want to be bankrupt

they are lovely, lovely people but the fact that they have done nowt about it up to now is not, IMO, a good sign.

I don't want to be bankrupt

beneficial interest, ah yes yes I have one, quite a big one, no I'm not worried about that especially.

god I KNEW about this 2 years ago!

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piglit · 26/04/2007 08:24

I'm still not sure how likely it is that you'll be made bankrupt. From what I can gather it's highly unlikely but it's very difficult to tell. However, you obviously do have concerns about bankruptcy so I suggest you say no.

I don't seem to be making any progress on this so I'll leave it now.

bloss · 26/04/2007 08:31

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 26/04/2007 20:31

nah it needs doing

I'd love to say no as I severely can't be bothered but...someone has to do it. my kid is at the school, its up to me also, i can't just pass the buck.

what is needed is for there to be a lmit placed on trustees financial liability, and my next step is to find out how to do it.

the crucial point here is that, whatever happens, there is pretty much no risk to our family home or income. (since i haven't been working for the past year, nothing has been transfered between us).

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