What type of debt is included in a sequestration?

You can either sequestrate yourself, or alternatively a creditor owed more than £5,000 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 £150. For a creditor to start the sequestration process, they have to be owed more than £5,000. 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 £5,000 they may get together to organise a joint petition.

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.

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.