debts & divorce

[futsysmids]

My partner is in the process of getting divorced.

Before she married her ex-husband he had debts, which she sorted out for him prior to them getting married. After getting married he started running up debts, transferring debts from one card to another but not paying for the debts, have a loan, and have another bigger loan to pay off that loan, and so on.

She left him 18 months ago, took out a �10k loan to pay off some debts and gave him �3k to pay off one of his cards.

They took out a joint loan of �15k in 2003, a year before she left of which up until 2 months ago he was paying, and now because the divorce papers have come through, he has now defaulted on the loan.

She is the gaurantaur of the loan, so she is getting the demands for payment which she doesn't have.

If she claims that she was misled into signing for the loans - can she get the debt(s) wiped out and as she already owes �30k anyway and he has �25k debts can she make him pay half of her debts and vice versa?

[lady_p_gold]

When you get divorced the Courts usually look at all the marital assets as a 'cake' and it is how that cake is divided that becomes the basis of the following paperwork and discussions.  The debts they have will be taken out of the cake and any assets will be then divided - either by agreement, or if not by agreement then by the Court, which can be a long and expensive process if it is a complicated issue.   If it is a joint loan and she is the guarantor then I would say she is just as liable for the debt and needs to get some legal advice quickly before her credit rating is affected etc.  She could maybe try and have a free consultation or perhaps try the CAB.