That's a question you will need to ask your trustee I am afraid. I would imagine that a likely scenario would be that they will terminate the trust deed if you insist you cannot make the payments after all. This could be by making you bankrupt instead, or they could argue that you have not cooperated and just end the trust deed and you would be back where you were before signing it.

If we went down the avenue of backruptcy then the house would probably get sold anyway. How else does this affect us.

Hi emma.

I think the best starting point will be to push for a review of your trust deed payment. It should be based upon what you can afford... if this has changed since the time the trust deed started in a way that's been out of your control there is some prospect that it could be reduced.

My suggestion would be to ask for a copy of their record of your income and expenditure upon which they are basing your payment. You will then be able to identify to them which things have increased in price since you started.

When we entered into the TD the amount they set was the least that they said could be accepted. My debt was £15000 and my husbands was £10000. They said there was equity of £8000 in the property which there certainly isn't now and I also had a car which was added to the TD also.

If we decided to give up our home and go into rented accommodation how would this affect our TD. I couldn't sell the property as I couldn't afford the selling fees we would probably have to default on mortgage payments and give back the property to the mortgage company therefore getting no money back from the sale of the property, but there is no equity in the property anyway. There is £8000 added to our TD as they said there was that amount of equity in it last year. Would be still have to pay this sum in our TD

Hi emma.

If the amount of equity was fixed at the start of the trust deed then you will have that commitment to the trust deed irrespective of whether the value of your property has gone up or down. You'll need to check to see whether or not the amount for equity was fixed in this way.

This figure for equity should be in addition to the monthly amount that you pay each month (which should be based upon affordability).

If the home were sold while you were still in trust deeds any surplus would go into the trust deed. If the figure were less than £8000 it should satisfy any equity requirements and you would be required to make the monthly payments only from that point.

You'll need permission from your Trustee to sell the home. If they will not give permission you may want to find out what steps the Trustee will take if you cease paying the mortgage and hand the home back to the lender.

How much do you currently think you could pay each month into the trust deed between you?

Because the mortgage is so high I believe we could just about afford £200. With council tax, electricity, gas, phone, insurances, car insurance, petrol travel costs for both my son and husband we would have around £350 left per month to live off.

Hi emma.

I'd still suggest that you request that your Trustee provides you with a copy of the income and expenditure being used to calculate your payment. You may be able to demonstrate that £200 is the most that you can now afford.

The trust deed company will then need to decide whether to:

1 - Look to resign and leave you with the debts. You'll then be free to sell the house and/or look to bankruptcy.
2 - Accept the reduced payment amount for your trust deeds.
3 - Look to bankrupt you and possibly seek to sell the house if they feel that it could help repay some money to your creditors.

It's important to remember that in bankruptcy a new assessment of your ability to contribute towards your debts will be made and payments (if affordable) would continue for three years. You will also be expected to release any equity in your home if there is any, though it should be based upon a current valuation.