Ex-Husbands Debt

[Dreamz]

Could Aome please advise My sisters Ex-husband borrowed money from one of his friends without her knowledge and consent and whilst separated for a sum around �7000 at the time which he claims was to repay mortgage arrays at the time he was living in the house during separatley he obviously has no intention of paying a year later my sister took over the house in which she has been living for around 3 years with her children the person who lent the money took her ex to court and too out a decree nisi on the house to claim back his money, her ex who has been trying to sell the house which they jointley own, for financial purposes is there anyway the creditor (person who lent the money) have any legal right to sell the house to repay the money he lent. Please advise

[Euroanchor]

A loan from a friend is a personal matter, and I cannot see how the house is being bought into it.

Secondly, if your sister has children, then she cannot be forced to seel the house until the children are ( I think) 16. And certainly not by her ex husbands friend.

Thirdly, To my very limited knowledge, a decree nisi is part of divorce proceedings, maybe you mean he had a charge placed against the property, highly unlikely in a personal dispute matter.

I strongly suggest your sister seeks proper legal advice.

[Euroanchor]

Sorry, reference the decree nisi, I found the following info,

This form of ruling has become a rarity in recent times, with one exception�in some jurisdictions it is still a standard stage of divorce proceedings. In the United Kingdom one judge approved 34 decrees nisi in just over a minute.[2] This allows time for any party who objects to the divorce to come forward with those objections. It is also at times termed as rule nisi. In most common law jurisdictions, a decree nisi must be obtained in possession proceedings before the court will order foreclosure under a mortgage enforcement.

However, as I explained previously, it is highly unlikely an individual would be able to obtain this ruling for a personal debt.

[themas]

Your sister needs to find out whether the �7000 was actually used to pay off mortgage arrears. The mortgage lender should be able to provide a statement which would show the payment if this was done.

If it was not done (i.e. the money was used for something else), then I can't see that the friend has any recourse against the house in anything to do with the divorce proceedings. I know nothing about use of decree nisi in this way, but if the decree has been obtained on the basis of false information it should be possible to get the Court to cancel it. Clearly, a solicitor would have to be involved.

However, if the ex-husband is still an owner (or part owner) of the house then the friend could get a County Court Judgement against him for the �7000 and - if he did not comply with the payment terms on the order - then go to Court and get a charging order on the house. This would secure the debt on the ex-husband's share of the house and could - in some circumstances - result in the Court ordering the sale so that the debt could be paid.