Sequestration | Debt Advice | Scotland

What is Sequestration (Bankruptcy)?

Sequestration is the Scottish equivalent to Bankruptcy. It is a method of writing off the debts that you cannot pay. Sequestration will free you from your debts enabling you to make a fresh start. As with Bankruptcy, your assets are then transferred to the Trustee who shares them out amongst your creditors. The Trustee in Sequestration can also seek a voluntary contribution from your income, if you are in employment.
Like Bankruptcy, Sequestration can be applied to you from the court, or you can do it yourself with debts of over £1,500 (See Self Sequestration below)

Pros and Cons of Sequestration

Advantages of Sequestration

Your creditors can no longer harass you for the debts
Your should be discharged from Sequestration after 1 year and you will then be Debt Free.

Disadvantages of Sequestration

You will probably lose any assets. i.e. property, home, life assurance etc...
If you are in paid employment you may have to contribute
If you gain a windfall or property after the date of your Sequestration and before the discharge date, you will have to surrender it to your Trustee.
It will be against the law for you to obtain credit of more than £250 unless you tell the lender that you are in Sequestration.
Your Sequestration will remain with Credit Reference Agencies for quite a while, even after your discharge. So it will be difficult to obtain credit, even after your discharge.

Self Sequestration

A petition for Sequestration can be done by yourself (debtor's petition) or by one or more of your creditors (creditors petition).
If you cannot meet your credit commitments maybe you are considering self sequestration.

You can apply for self sequestration if you reside in Scotland and your debts are over £1500 and

a creditor has served a charge for payment and fourteen days notice have ellapsed or
a creditor has served a statutory demand and 21 days have elapsed or
a creditor has served an earnings arrestment as a result of a Charge for Payment or
you have the agreement of a creditor

Self Sequestration should be considered as a last resort. There may be other debt solutions available. For more information on Sequestration or other debt solutions contact our Debt Advisors on Debt Advice. You can call our lo-call Debt Helpline on 0800 043 5133 or fill in the form above.

Is Sequestration right for me?

Anyone can enter Sequestration. If you cannot meet your debt obligations when they fall due then sequestration might be a consideration for you. You must fall under the below criteria

Debts over £1500
Resident in Scotland or living there during the last year
You mustn't have been made Bankrupt within the last 5 years
If you are doing it yourself, you must be able to pay the sequestration fees

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