Welcome to the forum Bigfrase.

I'm afraid your post has raised a few alarm bells about the advice you have been given.

Firstly there is no such thing as a joint trust deed, though partners and spouses can and do sign their own trusts deeds that take into account their joint circumstances.

Secondly, a trust deed will not work for your wife if she has no income. The reason is that all of your spare income will go to your trust deed in such circumstances.

I'm a little concerned also about trust deeds if you have equity in your home, though that may not turn out to be an issue depending upon the exact figures.

Don't panic though as there will still be a solution.

How much do you owe?

How much equity is there in your home after you take the mortgage and secured loan into account?.

Hi and thanks for your reply which has given me much food for thought!

My wife and I are now considering a DAS, and we understand that to be accepted in a joint DAS you must have at least one joint unsecured debt.
My question now is: Would a joint current bank account overdraft of around £2000 count as being a joint unsecured debt which would allow us to apply for a Debt Arrangement Scheme? thanks again 🙂

Hello again Bigfrase.

I'm not certain that you need a joint financial arrangement to start a joint debt arrangement scheme. Hopefully one of the experts can confirm.

However, if you do, a joint overdraft would fit the bill anyway.

Hi all

No, my understanding is that there does not need to be joint debts for DAS.

Mark

There does need to be one debt for which you are jointly liable, Bigfrase, you are quite right. A joint overdraft would meet this condition though - as long as it is being included in the programme.

It's an interesting point, but perhaps not especially important.

Even if a joint DAS weren't possible, it would usually be possible for two people to each set up their own debt arrangement scheme based upon their individual and connected circumstances.

Hi, yes you do need to have at least one joint debt for DAS, and your overdraft would count as that. It would be difficult for your wife to do anything if she has no income, so the joint DAS may be a good option. Best to sit down and have a chat with someone, who will go over all the options with you.

I'm really glad that Bigfrase asked this question as I hadn't previously been aware of the joint creditor element required to meet the criteria for a joint Debt Arrangement Scheme.

Shona is absolutely right of course in terms of the fact that it would have to be a joint DAS (rather than individual plans) due to Bigfrases wife's lack of income.

It's really useful that three of the firms that post on the site now are involved in helping clients with the Debt Arrangement Scheme (as well as trust deeds and sequestration) so that we can thoroughly cover DAS questions which come up more and more often as awareness of it spreads.