A woman could be forced to sell her home to pay the debts of her former husband who is now bankrupt – even though the couple divorced 20 years ago.

Vivienne Avis and her husband Edmund separated in 1985. Under the terms of their divorce settlement she was awarded two thirds of the value of the matrimonial home and Mr Avis was entitled to the other third. However, the court order said the house did not need to be sold unless she remarried or started co-habiting with another man.
 
Mr Avis became bankrupt in 1989. In 2003, a new trustee in the bankruptcy applied for the matrimonial home to be sold to pay Mr Avis’s debts which were still outstanding.

Mrs Avis argued in the High Court that there could be no order for sale because of the terms of the divorce settlement. However, the court ruled in favour of the trustee and now that ruling has been upheld by the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice John Chadwick said: “The interests of the bankrupt’s creditors outweigh all other considerations unless the circumstances of the case are exceptional.”

There will now be another hearing to decide whether the circumstances of the case are indeed exceptional and so enable Mrs Avis’s interests to over-ride those of her husband’s creditors.