One way of securing wealth from creditors is to share it with a spouse. Sources say there are a number of cases where assets in sole ownership are being sold and the funds used to settle mortgages on properties that are jointly owned and in negative equity. In this way the wife’s share of a property can be secured.
The slow-moving process involving the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) is providing a backdrop to this. Loans in difficulty are being transferred to the agency. Business plans for the property developers concerned have to be assessed and dismissed before the developer might find a judgment order being sought. This could take three years or more, giving people time to prepare defences from the future rights of creditors.
Meanwhile, there is some surprise among pension professionals at reports that former Anglo banker Seán FitzPatrick’s pension fund is jointly owned with his wife. It is usual for a pension fund to belong to a particular individual even if that person’s spouse has an entitlement to an income from the fund in the event of the owner’s earlier demise.