NT How to Recover Debt from Ex?

[Peanut]

After some help from legal professionals only, please.

My ex-partner was a very devious, manipulative sociopath, who unfortunately throughout the course of our relationship, borrowed (and also stole), a large sum of money from me. I am seeking information in regards to how I can pursue getting that money back from him. As far as I am aware, he has little to no assets, other than superannuation. Although, I suspect he may have money in a bank account somewhere that I don't know about.

Desperately needing help on what I can do about this debt issue. It's my own hard earned money and I hate the idea of him being allowed to get away with taking it from when and not repaying it when it was all supposed to be temporary loans (obviously not including the money he stole).

Please help!

 

[Victoria S]

How long were you with your partner and how long ago did you split up? Your answers to these questions can help determine whether you are eligible to be dealt with as a de facto couple under the jurisdiction of the Family Court. This option may enable you to access his super.

Otherwise you are left with common law debt recovery options. This will require you to be able to prove to a court that your ex stole the monies - (Im not sure what evidence you anticipate you may be able to produce to support this) and/or that a loan was made and that loan was not repaid. You will need to produce communications between you coming to an agreement regarding a loan and repayment plan etc.

If he has little to no assets, then even if you succeed in court he may not be able to pay the judgement debt. Your options under general debt recovery law would then be to bankrupt him and get x cents to the dollar on anything that you may be awarded by the court.

 

[Peanut]

Hi Victoria S,

We weren't together that long, a little under a year, however, we did live together for most of that time. I'm not sure whether that means it's unable to fall under the de facto classification.

It's not looking good for me, but I don't want to just give up. I don't want him to be able to get away with it. Really need some guidance so I can get at least some of my hard earned money back. While we were together, he earned a lot of money. I don't know what happened to it, whether he might have it stashed in a bank account I don't know about. Is there any way of finding out?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RTC]

Hi Peanut,

I am currently experiencing a similar situation. You can go through court. However if he does not respond, you will get a default judgement from the court. Then you can apply for a garnishee order. This is an expensive and time consuming exercise though. If it is a large amount, I would say it is worth it.