loan in joint names please advise

[confused79]

I have a loan with is joint with my ex husband (soon to be) when he left 2 years ago he stopped paying everything, i was unable to pay this loan as well as mortgage, i continued to pay the mortgage, but only pay some each month of the unsecured loan. I haven'd paid anything on the loan for jist over a year, i had tried to re-mortgage twice but my ex wouldn't sign.
Now i am re-mortgaging and crossed fingers he is signing. Now i want to pay some of this loan off, i cant afford to pay off all of it, and i also feel i should only pay half which i can do.
But someone has said to me i might not be able to do this without being liable for the rest. The loan comapny do nkow we are seperated. I am now worried that i wont be abel to just pay half of it and for the loan company to go after him for the rest.
What are your thoughts on this, and the legal side of it?
thanks in advance for any advice, woudl be really appreciated.
x

[CheekyChops]

You can pay half of it off without an issue but the loan company will continue to chase you both for the rest. You can't pay half and say 'right, i've paid my half now chase him for the other half'.

You are jointly liable for the loan, they won't care that you've paid 'your' half, your name will still be on the loan so you will still be liable for the rest of it.

[confused79]

yeah i know what your saying and i didnt think it would be as easy as that, i just wished it was.

See morally i think he should pay his half, as it was to get our home together, when he left it was like well ive left im not paying a penny and he didnt pay nothing towards the children either.
So my only option will be to pay half as that is what i can afford then offer to pay monthly payments to what i can afford.
its just so sickening though.

[emlett]

shouldn't your divorce lawyer be taking this into account within the financial settlement?

i.e. if you are buying him out of the house, why can't you agree to deduct his half of the loan from his settlement monies?
if you just pay it off, then he will get away with it

alternatively you could notifythe loan company that you are prepared to pay off 50% if they agree in writing to pursue your ex for the rest and not you and then tell them where he lives!

[confused79]

my divorce lawyer will not carry out the finanical side issue unless i pay her privately which i was unable to do becuase i cant afford it, i could of paid her once i re-mortgage but she was unable to do this. Im not divorced as yet, but was going to sort this re-mortgage out with my conveyencing solictor then speak to my solicitor about it, the loan i meanm, but i do have a gut feeling i will still be liable for it still.

[emlett]

i take it you don't qualify for legal aid? can you borrow off a relative to pay the solicitor?

i think its a mistake to give him his money from the house and then try to deal with the loan after as you will certainly get stuck with it. if you want to avoid it then try what i suggested above but i really do think you need a solicitor to prepare a consent order dealing with the house and the loan (and any other financial stuff)

if your can't do that then try to agree it with him if you can - if you put it in writing that you will be responsible for 100% of the loan but will deduct �x from his house monies to pay for his half or if he won't play ball, as above, try as i suggested withthe loan company?

[confused79]

no i dont qualify for legal aid, and its criminal becuase i have a child minder i get more tax credits which they take into account which is why i didnt qualify.

I have been backwards and fowards with my ex with all this, this is my third attempt at re-mortgaging as he wouldn't sign before as of his greed, he only paid 23 months of a mortgage with me, then when he left i paid on my own for over 2 years and obviously still am.

i think i will just speak to the loan comapny but i definalty am not paying more than half for the lum sum then either pay minimal amount each month but see if they can chase him also for the rest.

thanks for your help

[innocenti]

I dont want to worry you but my friend had a joint loan with her ex husband, it was a large amount (over �30,000) for a business. When they divorced he said he would pay the loan as it was for his business.

Fast forward 2 years, the ex contacted my friend and said that he was going to America to live and by the way, hadnt paid the loan for over a year.

The debt collectors came after my friend and she couldnt pay it so had to make herself bankrupt.

[confused79]

well this laon is 15k, and i can (well i will be able to when i re-mortgage) pay half off, and i will offer some each month but it will have to be something like 40 a month, then give them his address also. i dont think it will go as far as having to make myself bankrupt though.

[emlett]

sorry - me again! - sweetie, if you are paying it then they won't be bothered about pursuing him! as long as they are getting paid, they really will not care about who shoudl and shouldn't be paying what.

try to offer them 50% lump sum if they agree in writing to pursue him not you for the rest

i have just thought, you could always sue him for 1/2 of it if you end up having to pay it all off - assuming he has the assets to pay a court judgment.

or, can you just refuse to pay him 7.5K from the total of his share of the house to cover it once he's signed for the re-mortgage?