Welcome to the trust deed forum Izzy.

When working out your disposable income you need to leave your unsecured debt repayments out of the equation altogether.

Add up everything you reasonably would need to spend each month assuming that you don't have these repayments, then deduct that sum from your total household income. You will need to include that secured loan repayment and your mortgage amongst your living costs.

How much do you think is left over on that basis?

How much do you owe in total yourself?

A trust deed might be right for you, but probably not for a non-working spouse. It may turn out that different options will suit each of you, something that is quite common.

Is there any equity in your home?

Hi izzy welcome to the site.

I think considering your information you need to have a sit down with an advisor to make sure a trust deed is correct for your circumstances. This is the best place to have come as everyone is lovley and you certainly will get the answers you need.

When assessing your finances they would look at you income and then assess what you pay out monthly for living costs (Ie: phone, gas and electrcity, food, petrol and so on) as these are basic living bills and then they would assess how much you have left over.
Your partner would not be able to enter a trust deed as a trustee is not allowed to seek payment from a benefit. So they maybe better at looking towards other options.

There a lot of factors in this (ie: how much u own in total, how much is left from your income, do you have any equity in your home, do you own a car over the value of 3000). Every trust deed is different so speaking with someone face to face as well as seeking advise here at the site is a great step in the right direction.

Oh there you go one of the lovley advisors posted to you allready. hi trust deed assistance we must have typing at the same time lol.

Hi Amy,

Thanks for replying.

My spouse and I are joint owners of our home and she has debts on a couple of credit cards taken on while in work, and yes, we do have some equity of around 40% of the value our property.
If, as you suggest, a TD might be right for me, then how would my spouse, who has no income except my support, be able to receive help with her credit card debts?

Hi izzy,

There is lots of different options out there your partner could look into. Debt management plans, Lila's, Debt arrangements schemes and a few other options
If you look to the left of the site you can read up about these options to see if any are suitable to your partners circumstances. As i said if you both speak to an advisors they would be able to advise you both of the routes that are suitable for you both.

Hello Izzy.

Reidy1982 is correct, there are many options and you'd need direct advice to be sure what would be best for you.

If you have a lot of equity it may narrow the options. Are you including the secured loan in your equity calculation?

Hi Izzy

I would recommend that you sit down and have a face to face meeting with someone. As said, your wife will not be able to enter into a Trust Deed as she has no earned income. this is in her best interest so we will have to find another answer for her. With so much equity in your home, you have to get good advice, and get things in writing before you sign anthing. Remember assets are taken into account with Trust Deeds.
As TDA said, your secured loan would be allowed as an expense the same as your mortgage. Trust Deeds are not done jointly, so couples often end up going down different routes. Please speak to somene first though, just to ensure your house is dealt with correctly.

Thanks to all who've replied to me 🙂

Regarding the equity in our home.. the TD FAQs state that the home is protected, but also that the equity will need to be realised at some point during the life of the TD. How is equity in a home released while the home is protected?

Hi Izzy.

If it's the FAQ's on this site that you are mentioning it says:

"Provided you meet your commitments to the Protected Trust Deed you will not lose your home. A Trust Deed is often selected by homeowners in preference to bankruptcy which can often lead to the loss of a home. We strongly recommend that any homeowner gets written clarification as to how any equity in their home will be dealt with prior to signing a Trust Deed".

The key point is "provided that you meet your commitments".

If you have equity in your home you will need to pay over (or organise for someone else to pay over) a sum equivalent to that amount. This will be one of your commitments to the trust deed.

If there is substantial equity in your home, and no obvious or acceptable way to raise it, a trust deed probably isn't going to be the right option for you to choose.