Hi lostlots and welcome to the trust deed forum.

I certainly sympathise with the position that you find yourself in.

I should point out that we're really on the margins of the scope of the site with your questions as they primarily relate to your legal relationship with the mortgage lender and any legal separation agreement between you and your ex. These would be legal issues rather than issues of debt advice. However we'll try to help if we can.

Does your ex live in the house concerned?

Do you know if the mortgage payments are currently up to date?

Hi, thanks for looking at my post so quick.

Yes, he still lives in the house. The mortgage is in arrears, but he is now paying it again and bringing the arrears down.

My situation is just so frustrating because I would gladly surrender the house to anyone. It just doesn't seem that there is a way to ensure it happens, let alone quickly. It seems I have no power.

Also, I realise that I haven't asked about debt advice, but I decided to post on this site because I want to know more about my ex's trust deed. It is protected, so does that mean the house can't be repossessed? What else does it mean for me?

It seems to me that my ex's Trustees are not cooperating just so that my ex does not lose the house, but isn't it their job to get his debts repayed, and if so why are they only protecting him, and not the lender of the mortgage and unsecured loan.

Hi lostlots.

The protected trust deed means that your ex's unsecured creditors (non-mortgage loans, overdrafts, credit cards etc) cannot take legal action against him (and his assets - including his share of any equity in the home) provided he completes his commitments to the trust deed.

As a "secured" debt the mortgage itself isn't included amongst the trust deed creditors. Provided that the mortgage is paid there is no reason for the mortgage lender to take possession of the property.

The Trustee would need to realise any equity in the home belonging to your ex. This doesn't mean that the home would need to be sold, just that the money would need to be paid over one way or another. If there is no equity then the home is largely irrelevant to the trust deed.

The responsibility of the Trustee is to your ex and his creditors. There are rules that mean they must take account of your interests in the property (as an asset) but that's really about it in terms of any responsibility to you and your interests. From what you have written however I really don't think they are doing anything untoward that is affecting you.

If anyone is standing in the way of you getting off the mortgage it's either your ex who cannot remortgage and will not sell, or the mortgage lender who will not allow the mortgage to be put just in his name. They're unlikely to change their position on this as it's in their commercial interests to have two people responsible for the payment rather than one.

That really takes it back to being a dispute between you and your ex. In terms of any legal procedures that might help you to achieve your aims I'm afraid I'm not qualified to advise. I'm genuinely sorry that I cannot help more but hope that the background information is useful.

"The responsibility of the Trustee is to your ex and his creditors. There are rules that mean they must take account of your interests in the property (as an asset) but that's really about it in terms of any responsibility to you and your interests."

What do you mean by this? Can you give me more details please?

Does it mean that his Trustee can stop a Change of Parties and all that goes with it? I believe he needs their permission at least. Why would they say no, other than that that would mean he would then have more equity to free, which he probable won't be able to do and so would have to sell?

It seems you think it is not his trustee objecting to him taking the house on soley as such, it is him who doesn't think its in his interest?

As you may have guessed, I don't communicate directly with my ex anymore.
Sorry, I am so confused.

Hi lostlots.

My comments were a response to your concern that it might be the Trustee standing in the way of you being removed from the mortgage.
Do you have any reason to believe that this might currently be the case?

Has the mortgage lender indicated that they would be happy for you to come off the mortgage?

Yes and yes, please see message I just sent you. It probably is simply a legal situation between me and my ex, is there any further legal action I can take now that I am Bankrupt? Or do I have to do everything through my own trustee's now?

Hi lostlots.

Are you happy for me to summarise your message and reply here in the forum?

We like to keep things in the forum as they're often of great value to future visitors in similar situations.

I don't see any reason why your ex's trustee would want to stand in the way of the property being switched into your ex's sole name. Have you spoken to the trustee about it?

Is there a particular reason that you want to do this? Given that you have gone bankrupt then you have no further liability to the mortgage-lender, so you don't have to worry about being chased for any debt by them should the property be repossessed further down the line.

Hi again,
TDA: Yes I am happy with you summarizing my message.

Keving: yes I have spoken to the trustee about it, but I think I should again. They have been very off-putting so far though, and not forthcoming. Regarding liability, that is the case only during my Bankruptcy I think, not once it ends? Anyway, the secured loan of the mortgage is still a liability, really, and I have been seeking to be off it for 5 years, well before the his Trust Deed and my Bankruptcy came about.

It may interest you to know that his Trustee assured him that I would be able to be freed by 3 months of his Trust Deed starting. Its now been about 17 months. They also told him that if he freed me before he got a Trust Deed then he wouldn't be successful in getting one. We were literally on the verge of signing everything to free me once and for all, but then he got a Trust deed, so back to square one, though it is actually more like square minus 5.

I feel used, and still confused by it all. I just want rid of him.

Thanks lostlots.

You mentioned that the mortgage company concerned has informed you that they would allow your ex to remortgage.

Does this mean they would give him a new mortgage to which he would be the only party (you would be removed)?
Or does this mean that they would allow him to move away to a new lender by way of a remortgage?

You mentioned also that you believe that the Trustee may be stopping your ex from remortgaging, but you state that this may be because they don't think that a new mortgage will be granted to him in his name only.

Whether or not this is relevant probably depends upon the answer to the questions I've asked above.

On the balance of probabilities I still think it's really unlikely that the Trustee is standing in the way of this. As your ex is in a trust deed I think it's incredibly unlikely he'd be able to get a mortgage in his own name from a new lender which may explain the scenario with the Trustee explained above.
So the main question probably is; will the existing mortgage lender allow the change of the current joint mortgage to one just in his own name? You can make an argument that they might consider it isn't in their commercial interests to do this.

I'm not sure how much this matters to you though (financially, I do understand the personal frustrations). As Kevin has previously mentioned, your bankruptcy protects you from any future shortfall.

Trust deed assistant has summed it up quite nicely I think.

In answer to your last post, lostlots, you are no longer liable after the bankruptcy is finished too. The mortgage lender has a right to rely on its security and to repossess the property to try and recover the debt, but you are discharged from any further obligations to them.

Hi again,

I have been looking further into my options recently, and have a new question.

If a Change of Parties (to take my name off) happens during the time of my ex's Trust Deed, then any equity (if there is any) in the property would essentially increase for him. If the equity on his Protected Trust Deed has become protected before the Change of parties takes place, would the theoretical equity increase from the CoP also be protected, or would he then have more equity to release?

Hi lostlots.

Has the current mortgage lender told you that they're happy for you to have your name removed from the mortgage and it remain in the name of your ex only?