If you or your spouse have been declared bankrupt, one of the main effects of this is that the assets of the bankrupt party will vest in the trustee in bankruptcy automatically on their appointment.

This means that the assets or property which are vested in the trustee cannot be made subject of a property adjustment order of the court. The reason for this is that the court can only make a property adjustment order against a spouse’s assets, and the assets being vested in the trustee divests the bankrupt of those assets.

In general terms, if bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing, only the bankruptcy court will have the power to deal with the person’s assets. The family courts will not have jurisdiction to transfer the assets to meet the other spouse’s housing needs, for example.

The position is different when the bankruptcy has been discharged and the discharged bankrupt can own assets again in their own name.

Contact us 

Our expert Family Lawyers have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and serve clients across the West Midlands and Black Country including Stourbridge, Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Birmingham and beyond.  If you complete our online enquiry form, a member of our team will contact you for an initial discussion.

Alternatively, you can call 01902 328 355 and speak to Aimee Stokes, who is a family law solicitor based in our Wolverhampton office.