32 Days to Homelessness – Not Hopelessness

I have been researching the juristiction of the English Courts. I have been informed by A.H., solicitor, of Wooley & Co that “The English courts do not have jurisdiction over Spanish property.”  I have read this in other places apart from Wooley & Co’s website too during my research but have yet to find a law that I can quote or a definative answer as to why I am about to become homeless.

A.H. also said in her letter, “Whether however there is any such procedure that can be commenced in Spain to obtain recognition of an English court order I am afraid is a question that only a Spanish lawyer can answer. The opposite can be commenced in England and so this may be the situation.” Indeed that does appear to be the case. Do you think A.H is destined to become a polititian?

But the fact remains I was only made aware of the situation by chance and have never even been served with a notice!

So how does anyone make any sense of this?

Either the juristiction of the English Courts does or does not have juristiction over Spanish property…let’s not be wooly about this. There is hope I and you will get an answer to this!

Please feel free to leave a comment below especially if you have some useful information…:-)

Slipping through the legal net, a 53 year old Englishman, resident in Spain, is to lose his house and home within a matter of days. He has fallen victim to cross-border legal processes and unfortunate circumstances which include an archaic and somewhat secretive, local legal system. The plot thickens.

38 Days to Homelessness

Good Morning. Today I thought I would check my mail to see if any of the law firms and the European Courts I have written to have replied. Guess what. Nothing yet. Perhaps Monday will bring something.

I have found this information on the website of Wooley and Co who state…

“Limitations of the English Courts
There are some limitations on what can be agreed and arranged through the English court system. Any foreign owned property for example is not under the jurisdiction of the English courts so for example the judge cannot make orders in respect of overseas assets, unless the other party is in agreement. This means that, for instance, the Court cannot order that a house in France be transferred to one particular party. This would have to be dealt with by a local lawyer. “

Read it here if you like; http://www.family-lawfirm.co.uk/expat-divorce

This information agrees with what the judge, Deputy District  Judge Pollard sitting at Hastings County Court said at the end of the proceedings. Unfortunately I do not have a transcript but perhaps in time I’ll raise the necessary money and bring all this out in the open.

Just to recap, this case was decided in England on a property in Spain based on a valuation which the judge could not read as it was in Spanish. Additionally it was revised downwards two weeks later but has never been seen by the court…oh and I had it translated to English too!

OK, Saturday…off to pack up my few valuables to put in storage.

In case you missed the beginning you can read the Fairy Tale here.