If the car isn't in your name then surely you don't own it as an asset. Was your previous car listed on your trust deed as an asset or did the trustee express no interest in it? If the registration documents show someone else as the owner then your trustee wouldn't have any rights to it. Sorry for what seems to be a load of questions.

Thanks so much for your reply. My previous vehicle was in my name and it was included in the trust deed, its anticipated value at the end of the trust deed was £1,000. I agreed at the end to pay this (which I had no problem with). Just can't see a way out of this. If I hand the car back I can't get to work and if I don't I'm going to have to pay a load of money back. Had my vehicle independently valued and its worth no where near as much as the trust deed company are trying to get out of me!!

If the car isn't registered in your name, give a copy of the reg documents to the trustee. Ask the person wo bought the car to write to your trustee to say that although you have use of the car, it doesn't belong to you. Did you inform your trustee that you'd disposed of the car?

Hi Clairel6768.

Who paid for the vehicle at the time of the purchase?

Do your parents consider that the car is yours?

The de minimus level for dealing with a vehicle is £3,000. Which means only any equity over and above this sum may be realised by the Trustee. I assume you signed several years ago prior to the legislation when the level was only £1,000? What exactly was agreed with this asset? Did you seek your Trustee's approval when disposing I the vehicle and your parents purchasing you another? Are you paying your parents back now?

The Trustee may be of the opinion that the estate has been stripped of an asset. There may also unfortunately be a legal argument if your name is not on the logbook that this does not necessarily mean that you do not actually do not own the vehicle. It gets a bit complicated at that point. To further complicate the Trust Deed asset was used towards the new asset. The creditors do have a vested interest in this asset but the question is to what value.

Hi Gillian. Yes I did tell my trustee that the vehicle had been disposed of and why. My parents paid cash for the vehicle at the time of purchase. The car is registered in my mums name as we share use of it.

I don't know about other firms but my firm only realise the equity over and above the de minimus level of £3,000 (previously £1,000). For example vehicle valued at £3,500 at the end we would seek £500 being the available chunk.

Hi rob. I'm not paying my parents back.....very lucky in that they gifted me the vehicle. I did sign my trust deed a few years ago now......nearly 5 to be precise!!!! Payments to trust deed finished a year and a half ago. I tried to inform my trustee of the situation I was in prior to my parents purchasing the vehicle but after several attempts and no one returning my calls it was situation critical with regards to me getting to work as my old car was undriveable.

I signed in November 2008 and I was told that I had to pay anything over £1000 for the value of my car. Luckily my car was a complete shed and wasn't worth hee-haw! It limped through 3 years thankfully. If you and your mum use the car and she owns it, surely she's just letting you use her car. It all sounds very complicated from the trustees side.

It would seem fair to perhaps ingather either the amount agreed for the vehicle prior to disposal, or what was achieved as trade in for the new vehicle, which ever is the highest sum.

If you provide the Trustee with a full catalogue of evidence by way of receipts, statements, letter from your parents advising they bought and paid for vehicle as a gift and jointly use it with you, this may satisfy the Trustee that the current vehicle is not an asset, reverting back to the value of the previous vehicle.

I agree; as long as it can be proven that the car was bought by your parents and if you can make further payment in lieu of the value of the car that was traded in then that would seem to be a reasonable solution.