Trust Deed - Sole Trader Debts - Scotland

What is a Trust Deed?

A Trust Deed is a formal debt solution created for residents of Scotland. A Trust Deed can be seen as an alternative to the IVA which is not available in Scotland. In a Trust Deed, like an IVA, you agree to pay back a portion of the debts that you owe via a fixed monthly payment. After you have completed your payments the rest of your debt will be legally written off.
A Trust Deed is set up between you and your creditors through a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner like McCambridge Duffy. In the Trust Deed you agree to pay back a portion of your debts via monthly payments at a rate you can realistically afford. This payment plan usually lasts for 36 months, and the payments will be the same fixed rate each month. At the end of the 36 months any remaining debt that you owe is written off and you become legally debt free. Everything is outlined at the beginning of the agreement, so you will know exactly what quantity of the debt you are paying back and what quantity of the debt is going to be cleared, and how much your monthly payment is going to be.

How does a Sole Trader set up a Trust Deed?

If you are a Sole Trader living in Scotland and you are struggling to pay your unsecured debts then a Trust Deed might be an appropriate Debt Solution for you. You would normally need debts in excess of £12,000 with at least two creditors. McCambridge Duffy can help you set up your Trust Deed.
The first thing you would need to do is get in contact with us and give us a break down of your situation. When we speak to you we will do an analysis of your debts, your monthly income and your monthly outgoings (i.e. bills, rent, mortgage, food, fuel etc). This will enable us to determine whether or not a Trust Deed is the best debt solution for your circumstances, or if another debt solution would be more appropriate.

If we find that a Trust Deed is your best option and you want to proceed, we will draft a proposal for your creditors with the input of McCambridge Duffy’s Licensed Insolvency Practitioners. In your Trust Deed proposal we will detail your proposed monthly payment to your creditors, the amount of debt you propose to pay them and the percentage of the debt that will be written off. Once your creditors agree to the proposal, your Trust Deed will become protected and legally binding. This means your creditors can not opt out or hassle you for debts within the agreement. You will pay your Trust deed payments for a period of usually around 36 months and after this time the remaining debt is written off and you are debt free.

Advantages of a Trust Deed

• 1 easily affordable monthly payment based on your income and expenses
• Unlike some of our competitors, we do not charge Upfront Fees, saving you £100s
• A Trust Deed offers you protection from creditors
• Creditor pressure stopped as creditors must deal with us
• All interest frozen immediately
• Suitable for tenants or homeowners, individuals or couples, and even business owners
• We can setup a Trust Deed in as little as 4 week
  

Disadvantages of a Trust Deed

• If you are a homeowner with equity in your property you may be required to introduce part of your share of this equity in the final year of the arrangement. If you can’t get a remortgage your arrangement can be extended for up to another year.
• If your circumstances change, and your insolvency practitioner can’t get creditors to accept amended terms, the Trust Deed is likely to fail. You will still owe your creditors the full amount of what you owed them at the start, less whatever has been paid to them under your Trust Deed.
• If your Trust Deed fails, your creditors may request that you be made bankrupt. This will always be discussed before your arrangement commences
• Your credit rating may be impacted for up to six years from the commencement of your Trust Deed.