Question
Hi, I am in a big jam here. I was sued by a previous business partner of mine for some disputes we were having and they were awarded a judgment against me. They won the lawsuit. Now I owe them £100,000, and they are threatening to make me bankrupt. They know I own various properties around the region and a few of them I own outright, only 2 have small mortgages. If my ex-business partner were to make me bankrupt, I could lose everything. I need some advice and options as to what I can do.
Rachel
Answer
Rachel,
I understand your concerns and they are valid, unfortunately you could not settle matters with your ex partner prior to things reaching this stage.
Are the properties in question in just your name, or are they with someone else as well?
I ask as only your portion of any assets, or equity would be considered if you were made bankrupt.
Do you owe any other debts, credit cards, loans etc? In bankruptcy all your unsecured debts are included.
As for advice and options, the first would be to try and settle this with a repayment plan, if they will not accept this, you may need to re-mortgage or sell a property to pay the lawsuit. Not ideal, but the loss of one property, or re-mortgaging would stop a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy that would have all your finances looked into, and assets possible sold off to pay those you owe.
Regards,
Jon