Hi Mark. I've read it through too. Looks like they are aiming to have the new changes in place by the Autumn. If / when this does happen, will this have any impact on anyone currently in a PTD at that point? Or will it only be for new application from that point on? What would happen if you signed before the changes, but were not at protected status by the time the changes came into effect etc? Also. It refers to "Pre Trust Deed fees and outlays will be excluded. Any such fees and outlays will rank with other debts". What does that mean exactly? Thanks.

Any changes will only apply to trust deeds signed after the changes come into effect and won't have an impact on pre existing ones.

Not entirely sure about the 2nd bit. It may be that the work the trustee does before signing and any outlays ie valuations etc will be excluded.

Interesting to see how it pans out.

Mark

That looks like a positive change given the angst over equity.

Hi Thinkingofthefuture.

There is a bit of general confusion about the second aspect that you raise, along with some other things.

I'm sure there are plenty of people seeking clarifications at the moment (actually, I know there are!).

Essentially the changes are designed to crack down on those insolvency practitioners that may have been guilty of milking the trust deed process for fees. That can surely only be a good thing. Also good is the formalisation of one or two aspects which are done already by the better firms, such as the freezing of equity.

The worry was that they may throw the baby out with the bathwater - with talk of minimum dividends threatening to remove trust deeds as an option for many people. It is good to see that they have moved away from this now.