Help and advice

You may already be in arrears with your household bills or may be concerned about how you will manage to pay your debts. If you are going through a separation and feel you could benefit from some free debt advice and information on what options you have in dealing with your debts, you can use our online debt counselling service, which will provide you with the most appropriate solution to your debt problem. Alternatively contact our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111.

In the meantime you may find some of the following tips useful.

Joint debts

Any joint debts you have with your spouse or partner will have joint and several liability. This means that the debts will pass to you if the other joint owner of the debt cannot pay.

If you have a joint mortgage you may want to seek legal advice before you decide what will happen to your property.

Renting a property

If you are renting a property you will need to inform the landlord that you need to transfer the agreement into your name only.

Impact of separation on income

If the separation has affected your income or living arrangements, check your benefit entitlement. If you have children with your ex-partner you should arrange child maintenance. This can be done as an informal arrangement, or through the Child Support Agency (CSA).

If your separation results in you being the only adult in the property, ensure you advise the council as you should be entitled to a 25% discount on your Council Tax.

If you have no joint debts with your ex-partner you may want to consider a ‘notice of disassociation’. This allows you to remove any financial link with your ex-partner on your credit file. Speak to one of the credit reference agencies to find out how you can remove this link.

If we haven’t answered your question please contact us and one of our advisors will be able to help you.