Worried about mom..

[Kathy_923]

My parents are married in community of property. The house is in both of their names. The cars are both in my mom's name. They have a joined bank account. (My father left the country years ago without settling debt and was forced to use my mom's details when they came back)
My mom is unemployed and has never worked since her arrival in SA in 1985 so she doesn't earn an income and has no money to her name, nor are the possession really hers and they are not a concern for her. She never learned english properly and has not been in the working environment at all for many years and has been reliant on my father.
My father is getting himself into a lot of debt, he took out two bonds on the house over the past few years. Now, he is also planning to continue with a lawsuit that could cost him everything.
If he decides to leave the country again and my mother stays here in SA, as my dependent, will the debt incurred be passed onto her?
How do I protect her against this?
I am worried that my dad will skip the country and if she doesn't go with him, he will take drastic measures to ensure that he destroys her life. She would never be able to pay these debts.
What legal action can we take?
Can this debt to transferred onto me or my sister, his daughters?
Would this debt be tranferred to me if I took my mother in as my dependent?
What can we do to ensure this doesn't affect us and especially to protect my mother?

She can avoid his debt but the assets he spends down will be gone. He may want to see if the lawsuit can be done on a "no win no fee" basis--if the suit is really any good.

Ok I see, thanks very much.