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Scottish Trust Deed Forum
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Topic starter
10/09/2020 11:10 am
Hi,
Wondering if someone could advise. I entered a trust deed at the start of the year and was advised by the company that my income should only be used and not a combination of mine and my wife's. Is this correct? The accounts that were included in the trust deed were predominately mine however 2 off them were joint (one being the largest) and at the time it was not made clear to me that my wife will still be liable for the full amount even though I am now in a protected trust deed in terms of they accounts. The information about this was a one liner in the documents which I confess I have obviously overlooked, lots of paperwork and many signatures made my head spin. My wife is now paying back that account and the payment is more than I pay to my trust deed and over a long term! My question is have I been given incorrect advise and could I be inadvertently breaking any laws? I have contacted them and they have advised that everything is correct but I am extremely worried about this.
Thanks
10/09/2020 11:47 am
Welcome to the forum Delboy480.
Measuring income and expenditure for couples can be looked at in slightly different ways. The aim should be simply to assess an affordable payment amount for you that's also fair on your creditors.
It certainly should have been made very clear that your trust deed would not provide any protection to a joint borrower. It's obviously a major consideration in this scenario that you should have been able to take into account before going ahead.
What type of law are you concerned that you might be breaking?
Qualified Debt Adviser & Forum Administrator - Ask me anything about Trust Deeds 
Topic starter
10/09/2020 2:31 pm
Hi TDA,
Just concerned that we haven't followed the correct course of action required, for example if the joint income would have deemed us to still be able to afford all of the outgoings. Suppose describing it a law breaking is a bit extreme but unfortunately I am one of life great over thinkers.
10/09/2020 2:53 pm
Hi Delboy480,
The adviser will have been looking at your personal capacity to repay your debts. A spouse or partner has no responsibility to pay debts owed by their other half.
Sometimes looking at the partner's income makes sense so that household bills can be split fairly, but whichever way it's done it should simply ensure that you're making a fair and affordable payment.
Your adviser is responsible to their regulator for making a proper assessment of your surplus income. I don't think you have anything to worry about in terms of how they chose to go about this.
Qualified Debt Adviser & Forum Administrator - Ask me anything about Trust Deeds
11/09/2020 10:24 am
As long as you have provided whatever information your trustee has requested from you and not given any false information to them then you have nothing to worry about. As stated above, if your trustee has not assessed this fairly then they, not you, would be answerable to their regulators.
It really should have been made clear to you that your wife's liability for any joint debts would be unaffected by your Trust Deed. If you feel strongly that this didn't happen and that you have been significantly disadvantaged as a result then you could raise a formal complaint. It may be too late to be of benefit to you, but it could mean that the firm involved is more careful when advising others in future.
Scottish Debt Solutions Expert - Ask me for help setting up a Scottish Trust Deed or Debt Arrangement Scheme plan.
