If you are a resident of Scotland and you are facing a mountain of unmanageable debt (which is often considered to be more than £10,000 even though there is no minimum debt requirement for a trust deed),
If you are a resident of Scotland and you are facing a mountain of unmanageable debt (which is often considered to be more than £10,000 even though there is no minimum debt requirement for a trust deed), Scotland has made available exclusively to you several different debt management solutions. A trust deed is an agreement between a debtor and his creditors in which the creditors agree (although they are not obliged to do so) to accept a lower amount of money from the debtor than what they were originally owed. A trust deed typically lasts for three years and it is legally binding, which means that once the debtor signs it is legally bound to abide by the payment plan and the creditors (once they sign it) are legally bound to uphold their part of the agreement, too. This includes the prohibition of forcing any unexpected charges or fees on the debtor or changing the interest rate.
There are certain qualifications that must be met to apply for a trust deed. First (and most importantly), you must be a Scottish resident since this debt management plan is only available to Scottish residents. To show that you qualify for it you must offer proof that based on your current financial situation you do not have the financial capability to pay your creditors and also have enough disposable income to pay other necessary living expenses. Once you have established this proof it usually takes about six weeks for you to receive the deed. And then you have officially entered the trust deed period, which lasts three years.
There are several notable advantages in choosing to participate in a trust deed. Trust deeds cannot be used to protect loans secured by property or other assets but the deed can protect seizure of the assets that creditors would be able to take under formal bankruptcy proceedings. Perhaps the most important benefit of a trust deed is this: as long as you consistently adhere to the payment plan set out in the trust deed, any remaining debt is completely written off at the end of the three year period.
Though there are many quality advantages to obtaining a trust deed, there are also some serious consequences that should be researched and discussed in depth with a financial professional prior to decisively concluding that a trust deed is your best option. During the time that you are engaged in the trust deed, you are not allowed to obtain any additional credit. And the trust deed is written onto your credit report, which means that if you do try to obtain credit once the deed has ended, you have difficulty doing so.
Trust deeds are just one of several options available to Scottish residents who are having financial difficulties. Other options include Debt Payment Programmes and Debt Management Plan. But before you make any decision about what the best solution may be for your particular financial circumstances, always discuss your options with a financial professional first to ensure that you are aware of all of the ins and outs of your situation and the possible solutions available to you.
