Discharged in Scotland

Peanuckle

Well that's our first year over and done with, we both received discharge certificates in the post from our trustees this morning but I have a couple of questions and haven't been able to get a response from them so can anyone help?
As title suggests we are in Scotland and went bankrupt (sequestration or however it's spelt) a year ago through the Accountant in Bankruptcy. As is normal in Scotland the trustees set up a Debtor Contribution Order (DCO) at £0.00 because we live on disability/carer benefits.

My questions are fairly simple:
1) Am I right to assume that if my husband manages to get back to work we need to inform the trustees so they can reassess the DCO? If so, should we wait til we have a few pay slips and some idea of the revised income or do it instantly?

2) Are the trustees able to touch any inheritance received from someone who passes now (ie after discharge but within the DCO timeframe?

3) Can we borrow money from a relative to buy a more reliable car? He's aware of the circumstances and is happy and able to take repayments to suit our limited income.

Thank you for any help :beer: and to anyone out there staying up all night worrying about debt please please ring one of the helplines shown on here.
I've been in your position and even wondered if it was better for my loved ones to be without me rather than be with me and my debt. Thanks to the fantastic people at Gordon Rural Action which is a local debt charity I have my life and my sanity back :j Make that phone call, it is worth it! :T

Peanuckle

No one with any idea?

sourcrates

Hi,


Its the weekend, and footfall to the site is always a little quiet.


I am not sure how the scottish system works, but in england and wales, once discharged, your restrictions end.


Nation Debtline (scotland) may be able to offer more advice.

Minkym00

1) yes, you should do it straight away really. If you wait a few months they may want to backdate DCO increase and ask you to pay a surplus that there a good chance you will already have spent.

2) no, after acquired property can only be claimed during bankruptcy.

3) yes, and tell your trustee as they can reduce your DCO contributions to pay for it.

baldelectrician

https://www.aib.gov.uk/frequently-asked-questions-q20

Q20. Will I have to make payments from my wages/benefits to my bankruptcy?

You must give details of all your income from whatever source to your trustee. You will be asked to sign a debtor contribution order (DCO) to pay a contribution towards your bankruptcy for four years. If you are in receipt of benefits only then you will not be asked to pay any contribution but will be asked to sign a DCO which will be set at zero and will remain at zero unless you financial circumstances change before you are discharged.

A DCO can last for up to four years from the date that they are agreed or imposed and therefore you can be paying contributions after you have been discharged from your bankruptcy.

If you were made bankrupt before 1 April 2015 the legislation under which you were made bankrupt may be different. Contact your trustee or AiB if this is the case.

Looks like the year has passed and you will be OK

Call the AIB for specific info but it looks like as you are discharged the DCO will now remain at zero

Peanuckle

Now I'm thoroughly confused. I emailed the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) and they confirmed that after discharge we don't have to inform the Trustee if wages start coming in.

Ok that confirms what was said above but...

They also said a debtor in obliged to inform the Trustee if they come into any assets by the way of inheritance, PPI, compensation etc so I asked for clarification on whether that would include inheritance from a death AFTER discharge and they said it does ? Everything I've seen or been told prior to this email said the opposite.

coolcait

Peanuckle wrote: »

Now I'm thoroughly confused. I emailed the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) and they confirmed that after discharge we don't have to inform the Trustee if wages start coming in.

Ok that confirms what was said above but...

They also said a debtor in obliged to inform the Trustee if they come into any assets by the way of inheritance, PPI, compensation etc so I asked for clarification on whether that would include inheritance from a death AFTER discharge and they said it does ? Everything I've seen or been told prior to this email said the opposite.

As the other contributors have said, a lot of the info here is based on the system in England and Wales.

A lot of that is the same for Scotland, some things are different.

Following on from sourcrates' suggestion, I went to National Debtline's information for Scotland and found this:

"After discharge, if you gain new assets within four years of the date of your bankruptcy, the trustee will be able to claim them. Also, your trustee continues to have a duty to sell any assets that were transferred to them because of your bankruptcy."

It's under the section "How long are you bankrupt?" in this factsheet:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/S/factsheets/Pages/bankruptcyscotland/sequestration.aspx

Sorry (and sorry also for the huge link!)

Peanuckle

Thanks CoolCait you're an absolute star! :T That link is the clearest description I've seen of the rules so I now know what I'm doing. Digging through the AiB's booklets etc just confused me more as they seem to contradict themselves in several places.


Fingers crossed we don't lose anyone so the inheritance question is just a point of interest and not needed