Sequestration

There is a charge of £150 to go through the Full Administration Sequestration process in Scotland. You might be able to pay this in instalments and if you are in receipt of certain prescribed social security benefits (e.g. Universal Credits, Child or Working Tax Credits) or you are assessed as having no surplus income then there is no application fee payable.

The Minimal Asset Process route to Sequestration has no fees at all.

A Trustee’s fees and costs are met from the funds received into the bankruptcy through the realisation of assets and your monthly income contribution; there are no payments due by you over and above the agreed contributions from your income and/or assets.

For further information on all formal debt solutions fees in Scotland, you can call us on 0141 221 0999.

You are discharged from Sequestration typically 12 months after you formally entered the process. For Minimal Asset Process, you are discharged after a period of 6 months.

However, this may not be the end of the process because the terms of your Sequestration may include that you have to make a contribution to your estate for a period of 48 months.

If you’re in employment, you may be obliged to make a contribution to paying back your creditors for a period of 4 years, which will continue for a period after being discharged from Sequestration.

Therefore, while Sequestration gives you a strong chance to write off unaffordable debt and get your life back on track, you should seek expert Debt Advice as Trust Deeds and the Debt Arrangement Scheme might be a better solution for you depending on your circumstances.

You can get free and impartial debt advice from Moneyhelper also.

Yes, Sequestration does affect your credit file.

Usually, credit reference agencies will hold information about Sequestration for 6 years from when it was first granted. Your details will be also added to the Register of Insolvencies for 5 years.

Your credit score can be repaired thereafter, however, caution should be applied as it is often a legal requirement for you to disclose your Sequestration when you apply for a mortgage and therefore you may find your application rejected if you don’t.

If your credit file is important to you – You may consider looking into alternative Scottish debt solutions such as Trust Deeds and the Debt Arrangement Scheme.

It is possible that being sequestrated could affect your existing employment and prospects for future employment.

If you are in any doubt then you should review your employment contract and/or speak confidentially to your HR department.

If you are working in the financial services industry, police, armed forces, prison service, licensed HGV driver, Chartered Accountant or are a member of any recognised professional body then you should take further advice, this will be discussed by your adviser prior to you making an application for bankruptcy. This list of affected jobs/careers is not exhaustive.

If you’re worried about whether Sequestration would affect your job call us on 0141 221 0999, find out more about all debt solutions available in Scotland.

A Scottish Trust Deed is a statutory debt solution in Scotland that reduces unsecured debt repayments down to one single monthly payment and writes off a significant part of your unaffordable debts.

The length of a Scottish Trust Deed can vary based on the debt level involved, the affordability of the individual, and other factors including assets, however, the typical length of Trust Deeds in Scotland is 48 months.

A Protected Trust Deed acts as a formal, legally binding agreement between an individual and their creditors.

If you’d like to learn more about whether a Scottish Trust Deed is right for you, or if the Debt Arrangement Scheme suits your lifestyle, needs and affordability better, we recommend that you call us on 0141 221 0999 or complete our online form to receive tailored debt advice.

Trust Deeds are a form of personal insolvency in Scotland. They were introduced as a formal debt management solution for Scottish residents and have been revised a number of times since they were first introduced in Scotland.

Every year, thousands of people use Trust Deeds to get themselves out of debt alongside other formal debt solutions known as the Debt Arrangement Scheme and our equivalent of bankruptcy, known as Sequestration.

In order to qualify, your unsecured debts need to outweigh the value of your assets, such as a house or vehicle(s) and you would typically owe a minimum of £5,000. While this is the minimum, there is no recognised maximum amount with some Trust Deeds becoming put in place with over £40,000 of unsecured debts.

Unsecured debts typically include companies that you owe money to such as credit card debts, personal loans and store cards.

Benefits of Trust Deeds

• Debt payments are rearranged over a period of 4 years so that they are affordable for you. After this time any remaining debt is written off.
• Once your Trust Deed is protected, your creditors won’t chase you for payment or add more interest and charges to your debts, and they can’t take any court action.
• You get to protect your home and car.

Risks of Trust Deeds

• Your credit rating will be affected for six years, starting from the date the arrangement is agreed.
• There’s a risk of sequestration if your Trust Deed fails.
• Trust Deeds may affect the terms of your employment for certain occupations. If you’re concerned about this you should check your contract or speak to your human resources department.

When people think of insolvency, bankruptcy or sequestration there is sometimes a stigma attached to these words which can deter an individual from seeking help with debt in Scotland. However, the reality is that many more people every year are using Trust Deeds and the alternative Scottish debt solutions to get their finances back to a manageable level

We have 3,000 debt advice reviews, and this can be a good starting point to find out how other Trust Deed Scotland clients found the process in their own words, which helps to shows that Trust Deeds are an insolvency product which not only helps people with their debt but furthermore allows them to successfully get their lives back on track.

A Trust Deed is an effective statutory debt solution for residents of Scotland who have unaffordable debts.

If you qualify for a Trust Deed, you will pay a regular, affordable amount towards your debts and any debt left after the fixed term has ended will be written off.

The standard length for a Trust Deed term is 4 years, however, Trust Deeds may not be the best solution for everyone. There are other alternative ways of resolving personal debt issues in Scotland including the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS).

If you want to learn more about whether a Trust Deed is a good idea, call Trust Deed Scotland on 0141 221 0999 for tailored debt advice today.

A Statutory Moratorium in Scotland is designed to give you short term protection from your creditors (the people you owe money to).

If you are finding it difficult to repay one or more of your creditors and feel like you need breathing space to consider your options without the threat of creditor action, you can apply for a Statutory Moratorium. This effectively stops creditor action against you for 6 weeks, offering you valuable time to seek advice and think about your longer term options.

The Statutory Moratorium is not a debt solution, it doesn’t write off debt and does not stop interest and charges from building up, but it does give you time to think and will stop imminent creditor action, such as an earnings arrestment or a bankruptcy petition. Any debt recovery actions already in existence, e.g. an earnings arrestment, will remain in place.

There are no fees to pay for applying for a Statutory Moratorium and the application process is very simple.

If the Statutory Moratorium application is successful, your creditor(s) will not be able to serve a charge for payment during the six-week period or enforce any court orders. You are allowed to apply for a moratorium once in any 12-month period so if you’ve already applied during the last year, you won’t be eligible.