Prenuptial agreements and mortgage debt explained

Questioner

I ask Ven married with a prenuptial agreement and bought a house where we were both jointly and severally liable for the mortgage only the house on my ex was now separated the judge thought it was all very strange and devious and decided that we would divorce in community of property now there was a arrears in the mortgage and the house had to be sold I was given quite a few options so that we would not be left with too much residual debt but because the house was not in my name I could do little the bank said now it turns out that the house has been sold I never signed for anything and I don't think I would have done that because there is a residual debt of 120k I don't understand that a bank can agree to that but now that I called the bank and only then heard that it had been sold they immediately said that I had to pay is this usual and normal again I really didn't know that it had been sold and I was never involved in it

Lawyer

The court will probably have decided that the settlement between you and your ex should be as if you were married in community of property. However, this does not affect your liability for the (remaining) mortgage debt. You were already jointly and severally liable to the bank for this and have remained so. The court's decision also did not result in you becoming co-owner of the property and therefore only allowing it to be sold with your knowledge; you only received, as it were, a 50% share in the value of the property, which share was offset by the now partially repaid mortgage debt. In legal terms, the bank may also recover the remaining debt from you in full. If you were to pay more than half of the debt, you would receive a claim on your ex. If you can prove that the house was sold for too low a value, then you also have a claim on your ex for the difference. After all, he has to settle with you on the basis of the real value of the house at the time of sale.

Questioner

Thank you for your response, that is clear, but I do not understand that a bank would approve an amount of 50k if there is a mortgage of 168k and that I would not hear anything. Yes, I heard from the bank 8 months later that it had been sold and when I called the bank I heard for what amount and yes, that was when the letters arrived, that is why I thought maybe I could contest it because I had offered other solutions and that I would not be left with such a debt.

Lawyer

The bank does have a duty of care towards you and should therefore have involved you in the sale of the collateral. Given the sales amount of €50,000 mentioned by you against a debt of €168,000, I do wonder whether the bank fulfilled its duty of care.