When my live-in partner and I separated we created a separation agreement to deal with our property since we were not married. We are in our 70's and health was a factor. My partner does not expect to live more than a few years.
We drew up a legal agreement that he would have the use of our real property (deeded as joint owners with right of survivorship) and it would become my solely-owned property in three years if he survived that long. If he died before that, it would become my solely owned property by right of survivorship. We also put the vehicles he uses in both our names, and drew up an agreement that all the property he has the use of (including merchandise belonging to his business) was jointly owned by us with right of survivorship, and would become my solely-owned property in three years if he survived until that date. No bank accounts, cash or credit cards are included in our agreement.
If he survives past the date we set, he will have the right to continue to use the property and pay me an agreed-on rent for its use. Our agreement is a friendly one, as we remain friends despite our separation.
Our concern now is that he has run up a credit card debt of close to $80,000 - a combination of horrendous economic conditions affecting his business, and health expenses not covered by insurance. My question is two-fold:
1. If he is unable to continue paying on his credit cards, can the banks place leins on our jointly owned property?
2. If he dies before the 3-year date leaving the debt unpaid, will all our jointly owned property pass immediately to my ownership, or will the banks be able to place any kind of claim on the property (real and/or personal)?
An additional concern - We have not yet considered debt consolidation or bankruptcy. Should we do that?
We drew up a legal agreement that he would have the use of our real property (deeded as joint owners with right of survivorship) and it would become my solely-owned property in three years if he survived that long. If he died before that, it would become my solely owned property by right of survivorship. We also put the vehicles he uses in both our names, and drew up an agreement that all the property he has the use of (including merchandise belonging to his business) was jointly owned by us with right of survivorship, and would become my solely-owned property in three years if he survived until that date. No bank accounts, cash or credit cards are included in our agreement.
If he survives past the date we set, he will have the right to continue to use the property and pay me an agreed-on rent for its use. Our agreement is a friendly one, as we remain friends despite our separation.
Our concern now is that he has run up a credit card debt of close to $80,000 - a combination of horrendous economic conditions affecting his business, and health expenses not covered by insurance. My question is two-fold:
1. If he is unable to continue paying on his credit cards, can the banks place leins on our jointly owned property?
2. If he dies before the 3-year date leaving the debt unpaid, will all our jointly owned property pass immediately to my ownership, or will the banks be able to place any kind of claim on the property (real and/or personal)?
An additional concern - We have not yet considered debt consolidation or bankruptcy. Should we do that?
