Debts and Prenuptial Agreements: Your Question Answered
Questioner
My husband has a business debt of 107,000.00 with a bank. He is still a self-employed person and cannot pay off this debt as quickly as the bank wants. What are his options; and by that I mean debt restructuring, bankruptcy, etc. We are married under a prenuptial agreement (which has not been adjusted for years) and my son and I live in Germany and have a pension there as a small business in my name. The house we live in is owned by my husband, myself and a third person. We are each one-third owner. Can the bank foreclose on our house and my business?Lawyer
Now that you are married under a prenuptial agreement, this does not affect the fact that your husband has assets abroad. True, assets in Germany can be seized. Regarding your company, this cannot be seized, unless it is formulated differently in the prenuptial agreement. Debt restructuring, bankruptcy, I would not advise. In addition, if you were to enter into this, the entire assets would be considered a fiscal attachment. A payment arrangement or an amicable settlement is worth considering.Questioner
Thank you for your quick reply. If I read your reply correctly, it is possible that the bank can seize the house, even though it is only one third owned by my husband. This means that I (the second owner) and the third person (automatically the third owner) can be evicted from their home. This seems so unlikely to me.Lawyer
Your husband's share can be seized in the event of a sale. In the event of seizure, your husband can make arrangements. The seizure is a stick behind the door.Questioner
hello, thank you for your quick reply. If I read your answer correctly, it is possible that the bank can seize the house, despite the fact that it is only one third owned by my husband. This means that I (the second owner) and the third person (automatically the third owner) can be evicted from their home. This seems so unlikely to me. Thank you in advance for your response,Lawyer
Should you sell the house in the future, then your husband's share can be seized. Also the fact that you are married under prenuptial agreement, the following; If you are married under a prenuptial agreement, it is possible that this prenuptial agreement contains an exclusion of any community. Many prenuptial agreements have an exclusion of any community as a starting point. If there is an exclusion of any community, then each spouse remains the owner of his or her own property, and creditors can in principle only recover from the property of the spouse who incurred the debt. In the prenuptial agreement you can make a distinction between the 'external effect' (towards creditors) and the 'internal effect' (between the spouses, in the event of divorce or death). The consequences of insolvency can be limited by paying extra attention to the following points in your prenuptial agreement: - Try to keep the joint assets as small as possible or even exclude them. - Avoid liability for debts incurred by the other spouse. - Carefully consider whether to include or maintain a so-called “Amsterdam “settlement clause” in your prenuptial agreement. - Make your prenuptial agreement on time. - Make sure that your prenuptial agreement clearly states who owns what. - Keep your administration in good order. - Actually carry out what you have agreed in your prenuptial agreement. - Think about allocating property. - Place risky new companies in a (separate) Private Limited Company and ensure that only this BV is the contractual party for financing and suppliers. I hope you can do something with these points of attention.Questioner
I have now received the writ and it states that the bailiff has repeatedly demanded payment. Unfortunately I never received anything, because the bailiff was at the wrong address. This while the correct address was indeed known, in fact the correct address is stated on the statements. Now I have to pay almost 20,000 euros in interest and costs. While I was known to the bank all this time. Apparently they did not pass this information on to the bailiff. It is also annoying that I have repeatedly tried to contact the bank over the years, but they no longer wanted/could provide me with any information because the account number had been crossed out and processed. I was told that the account was at zero and that nothing was open for them anymore. When I asked who was now handling this account, they could not give me a definitive answer. Do I now have to agree to this interest and costs. I am aware that I have to pay the debt and I have no problem with that. I wanted to contact them about that for a long time, but I could hardly call every bailiff in the Netherlands to ask if they were handling my case! In advance, again, thank you for your response,Lawyer
If you can provide evidence that the documents were delivered to the wrong address, you can contest this and claim that the high costs are unreasonable. You can also hold the bank liable, because they have a duty of care towards you as a customer. If you wish, you may contact me directly for further information.Neem de volgende stap
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