What are the consequences of sequestration (bankruptcy) in Scotland?

Losing control of assets, such as your home and car, is a possibility. Sequestration will be noted on your credit file for a period of time, which is dependent on certain factors determined by credit agencies and how creditors view the information. Your sequestration can be viewed in the public Register of Insolvencies. Your job may be affected if there are restrictions written down in your contract of employment regarding sequestration You won’t be able to act as director of a company

You can either sequestrate yourself, or alternatively a creditor owed more than £3,000* can start the procedure. To enter sequestration yourself you need an approved money advisor to agree that you are in fact insolvent, and that other procedures are not more suited to your circumstances. Once this has been established, they will issue a Certificate of Sequestration which is valid for 30 days. This is sent to the Accountant in Bankruptcy, along with the application for sequestration and the fee of £200. For a creditor to start the sequestration process, they have to be owed more than £3,000*. They may already have sent you a Statutory Demand, and will lodge a petition for your sequestration with the court. If no single creditor is owed £3,000* they may get together to organise a joint petition. (*This figure is temporarily set at £10,000 following the Scottish Coronavirus Act).

You are normally discharged from sequestration after 12 months. You will be discharged after 6 months if you enter sequestration through the MAP route. Your Trustee will remain in office for a further period of two years, during which time they may continue to realise your assets. Even though you have been discharged, you must cooperate with your Trustee.

Creditors will not be able to take further legal action against you, alleviating much of the pressure associated with being in debt Your Trustee becomes an intermediary between you and your creditors, dealing with all correspondence relating to your debts Once you are discharged you do not have to repay the debts which you had when you were made bankrupt, although there are some exceptions to this. You are still responsible for paying: fines, penalties, compensation and forfeiture orders imposed by any court; any liability due to fraud including benefit overpayments; any obligation to pay ongoing aliment; some students loans; and money owed to someone who holds a security on your property, such as a mortgage or secured loan. Apart from the exceptions listed above, your pre-bankruptcy creditors will not be able to take any legal action against you to recover their debts.

You have to be resident in Scotland, owe more than £1,500 and be unable to meet payments as they fall due. Additionally, you must not have been in sequestration during the previous five years.

If you can afford to, you will need to continue making repayments from your income for a further period of 36 months. Your Trustee will remain in contact, and you are obliged to cooperate fully.

If you own a car worth more than £3,000, or you have no real need for a vehicle, it may need to be sold to raise money for your creditors. Alternatively, your Trustee may ask you to sell it and buy a cheaper one so that you can put the difference to paying off your debts. If a vehicle is needed to get to work, however, selling it may not be the best option and you may be allowed to keep it.

Sequestration is a form of insolvency available to Scottish residents, whereby assets are transferred to the control of an appointed Trustee in order to pay off unsecured debts. It is very similar in nature to bankruptcy in the rest of the UK, and is seen as a measure of last resort to pay creditors and permanently write off debts. You can apply for sequestration yourself, or if one or more of your creditors are owed £3,000 or more they can apply to put you into sequestration in order to recover part or all of their debts.

Unsecured debt including credit cards, loans and overdrafts are included in sequestration, as well as arrears on household debts such as utility bills and council tax. Any debt secured on an asset is not included. Nor are student loans, Child Maintenance payments, fines or overpayment of benefits.