Hi there,
Can I please enquire, if a person's outgoings changed, are there any reasons why their trust deed payment could not be reduced?
To explain my question, I am separated from my husband who is in a trust deed. He lives in the former matrimonial home, which we jointly own and have a joint mortgage. I have rented accommodation for myself and our 3 children.
After no child maintenance payments for 2 years (despite the fact they are taken into account by his trustee when calculating the monthly payment due) I opened a case with CSA who will enforce the payment. My husband now says he can't pay the mortgage, and since it is a joint mortgage, liability will now fall to me, effectively cancelling out the effect of the child maintenance.
My understanding is that child maintenance payments are prioritised along with mortgage, council tax etc. therefore should the monthly trust deed payment reduce to reflect the child maintenance order?
Is there any reason why this could not happen in practice?
Many thanks for your time and advice.
Welcome to the forum mrsr1976.
A trust deed payment can be reduced. Indeed, it should be set at a level which is affordable after essential bills and costs have been paid. Paying a mortgage and child support would fit into this category.
There might be consequences if a trust deed payment had to be reduced a lot. There are circumstances where it might become the case that the arrangement had to be extended, or it might even effectively be cancelled if the reduction in payment meant it was no longer a fair and viable solution for all involved.
One issue is that the inclusion of this expense is between your ex and his trustee. Your influence is pretty limited.
A further issue is, if the mortgage cost and child support cost has already been accounted for by the trustee, why would the trustee agree to reduce the trust deed payment further?
Another issue is, even if these costs are included in the calculation, that the trustee cannot compel your ex to pay the mortgage. If he does not, it would appear that the mortgage lender would be within their rights to seek payment from you.
Have you had legal advice in terms of the separation?
Hi TDA,
Thank you so much for your quick response.
The trust deed initially allowed for maintenance payments in the sum of £200 per month which were never paid. CSA decided that the payment should be £313 therefore an additional liability of £113. This is why he says he is unable to meet the mortgage payments.
I appreciate that it's very difficult to give generalised advice without knowing the circumstances of the situation but I am feeling relieved that it is at least a possibility that this additional liability could result in a reduction of the trust deed payment while we wrangle over the sale of the house [:(]
Many thanks for your help.
Hi mrsr1976,
Like you say it's hard for us to give specific advice on this situation.
Unfortunately if the Trustee has determined that the contribution should remain at the same level then your ex-husband has a choice to make in that should he maintain the Trust Deed payment and not the mortgage or vice versa.
If there is a property which is jointly owned then any sale of this will result in your ex-husbands share being included into the Trust Deed if the property is sold before the conclusion of the Trust Deed. As a result he may not want to continue with mortgage payments because of this.
It may be a good idea to seek legal advice on the separation and divorce.
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