fraudster ex faces jail and owes me thousands...please help

[societyplace]

Long Story:
My ex and I had a contract regarding our house which was in his name only, clearly stating that I gave him £XX,000 FOR A 50% SHARE IN THE EQUITY IN 2004. We have been apart for over 4 years now and had remained friends. A solicitor says these contracts are valid. My ex offered to buy me out at an agreed price and pay over 12 months, commencing Jan 09. I only just found out 2 weeks ago that he "sold" our house to a relative of his in Jan 09 using fraudulent pay slips etc. Anyway, he cleared more than 3 times what he still owed me when he defrauded the bank but did not pay me my share of the equity, now says he cant pay as this last 12 months have drained him financially. I know he has assets but not sure how much they are worth My question is this, the 2 of them are to be sentenced in 4 weeks for the fraud crime. How can I get the money he owes me? Is there a way to secure my money before his assets are froze / sold. I know I cannot touch his relative who now owns my home as she is not the one whos name is on the contracts but surely there is a way I can recover what he owes me. Had it been a few grand I would have walked away as the stress is inbearable but we are talking thousands here. They both might get jail in 4 weeks so I need to act now.
Thanks in advance for any assistance

[factor-fiction]

I hope you get something but i think the chances look slim. It's likely he'll have made sure he has no assets that can be taken

[themas]

1. Your contract with your ex should have been written in such a way that it was a restriction on the land title (i.e. it should have been registered at trhe Land Registry so that he could not sell the house without paying you the money). If you had solicitor's advice when the contract was drawn up, & it was prepared by the solicitor, it might be (depending on the details if the situation & what instructions the solicitor was given) that you have a claim against the solicitor for negligence.

2. I'm not sure whether the criminal prosecution is in connection with the contract you have with your ex. From what you say I don't think it is, but if it is, you should make a Court application for compensation. Your solicitor should be able to advise you on this.

3. I'm not sure why you think his assets will be frozen or sold. If they are sold this presumably will be to pay the bank which he defrauded. It might be that the sale will realise sufficient to pay them off & leave something over, which you could claim. Again, you need a solicitor to advise you on this.

[factor-fiction]

I agree with themas. I got the impression that the contract was simply in the form of a letter between the couple and solicitors weren't involved. Yes the restriction should have been placed on the title. A solicitor is needed and I hope you get something substantial back but peopel like this are normally good at hiding assets

[societyplace]

Thanks for your replies, I am seeing my solicitor later this week. I understand there are a few different avenues to explore, but they are all time consuming and expensive however I am willing to try anything in order to reclaim this money. Fingers crossed xxx