A trust deed is not a product a company invented. It is a statutory procedure under Part 14 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016, with prescribed forms, statutory deadlines and a public register.

The second question has a longer answer, because three different bodies regulate three different things. Our trust deed page sets out how we help, and this page sets out who is accountable for what.

A licensed insolvency practitioner, and nobody else. They must be qualified to act under section 390 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and must not hold an interest opposed to the general interest of your creditors.

The statutory conditions on the person

Section 165 of the 2016 Act adds a further test: the person must not be disqualified by section 49(3) to (5) from acting as a replacement trustee in a sequestration. mygov.scot puts the practical position in one line, that a licensed insolvency practitioner is the only person who can arrange a trust deed.

Before accepting appointment the trustee must also be satisfied that a trust deed will benefit your creditors in general. The Accountant in Bankruptcy’s guidance for trustees treats that as a check on whether the procedure is appropriate at all.

The company in the advert is not always the practice

This is the point that catches people out. The firm whose advert you clicked is not always the insolvency practice that will hold your estate.

Ask for the name of the individual who will be your trustee and the firm they work for, and expect a clear answer. How you apply for a trust deed sets out the steps that follow.

A recognised professional body, not a government department. Authorisation is personal to the individual practitioner rather than to the firm on the letterhead.

Three regulators, three different jobs

The GOV.UK page carrying that list was last updated on 23 June 2021. It does not record whether any body has since stopped being recognised.

So do not take the names on trust, including from this page. Ask which body authorises your trustee and check the current list before you sign.

A large firm can have very few licensed people

A firm may have several licensed practitioners and many staff who are not licensed at all, which is the reason to ask for a name rather than a brand. How much a trust deed costs covers what that person will be paid.

No. The Financial Conduct Authority authorises firms for debt counselling and debt adjusting, and it is not the body that authorises the person who will act as your trustee.

What the FCA does authorise

Two things are specified activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001. Article 39E covers giving advice to a borrower about the liquidation of a debt, and article 39D covers negotiating with a lender on a borrower’s behalf.

That is the regulation of debt advice given by way of business. It is a different activity, carried on by a different firm, from acting as trustee under a trust deed.

Why the distinction matters to you

Section 183(6) of the 2016 Act puts anyone who advised you before the deed was granted behind the creditors in the order of payment. The statute plainly contemplates that the adviser and the trustee can be different people.

So there can be two firms and two regulators in the same transaction. Whether to use a free debt charity or a paid adviser is worth reading before you speak to either.

The two checks that follow

For the firm that advised you, the Financial Conduct Authority tells consumers to check its Financial Services Register to confirm the firm is authorised and has permission for the service it is offering.

The FCA also warns about lead generators, which collect details through questionnaires, cannot themselves give debt advice, may push particular products because they receive referral payments, and often rank highly in search results.

For the practitioner, the check is different. Ask the authorising body whether that individual holds a current licence.

It decides whether a trust deed becomes protected, keeps the Register of Insolvencies, and supervises how trustees carry out their statutory functions. Its powers are real and several of them are new.

Nothing becomes protected because a firm says so

The trustee applies within four weeks of the end of the objection period, and the Accountant in Bankruptcy checks that the statutory conditions are met and that the contribution accords with the common financial tool. What happens between signing and protection sets out the timetable.

Protection runs from the date of registration, under section 163(2), not from the date you sign. The weeks in between are the exposed period.

The powers, and what each is for

Its supervisory role sits in section 200 of the 2016 Act, which also requires it to keep the Register of Insolvencies.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy’s own guidance sets out what is not a proper reason to refuse a discharge: a change of circumstances that prevents you paying, and assets realising less than originally estimated. Whether your trust deed appears on the Register of Insolvencies covers the public record.

Section 183(1) is an exhaustive list, and the word it turns on is only. A trustee may be remunerated only by a fixed fee, a percentage of the estate realised, and outlays.

There is no statutory tariff

The trustee sets the fixed fee and sends it to creditors during the five-week window, and no creditor approval is needed to set it. Only an increase needs a majority in value or the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Fees and outlays come out of the contributions and realisations in the trust rather than a separate bill. What a trust deed costs goes through the arithmetic.

The right almost nobody mentions

You can have the fees audited. Schedule 4 paragraph 1 lets the debtor personally ask the Accountant in Bankruptcy to audit the trustee’s accounts and fix the remuneration.

That is a right you hold personally, not one your creditors have to exercise for you. Ask for the fee basis in writing before you sign, so you have something to measure against later.

Why the fee level changes what creditors get

Because fees are paid from the same pot as dividends, a small contribution over the minimum term can leave little for creditors once fees are met. Section 176 sets a threshold of at least 5 pence in the pound before a dividend is paid, and the guidance for trustees expects trustees to consider paying below it where the sums are still meaningful.

No percentage can honestly be promised at the outset. What is written off is whatever is left unpaid when you are discharged, which depends on what you can afford over the term and what your estate realises.

Eight things, and every one of them is something you are entitled to ask. The statutory minimum time to consider the papers is three clear days, and that time exists for exactly this.

The checklist

There is a statutory minimum. Section 164(3) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 requires your total debts, including interest, to be not less than £5,000 at the date you grant the deed.

There is a ceiling as well as a floor. Section 168(4) requires contributions across the payment period to total less than your total debt including interest, so a deed cannot be registered where the projected contributions would repay everything, and the Debt Arrangement Scheme is the route for someone who can pay in full.

Treat any promise about a write-off with caution

Nobody can know at the outset how much will be written off, because it depends on your contributions, your assets and the fees taken over four years. A trust deed against the Debt Arrangement Scheme and a trust deed against a debt management plan compare the alternatives.

Three routes, in order. Raise it with the trustee in writing, then with the Accountant in Bankruptcy, then with the professional body that authorises the practitioner.

Why the order matters

The trustee has to answer you first, and a written record of what you asked is what the other two will want. The Accountant in Bankruptcy supervises the statutory functions and can issue a binding direction.

The professional body deals with the individual’s conduct and their licence. What happens if your trust deed fails covers the position if things go further than a complaint.

If it went wrong at the very start

Protected status can be removed where a material error or irregularity is identified within three months of the date of protection, under provisions in force since 1 July 2024. That is a narrow window, so a free adviser is worth speaking to quickly.

Nobody has to use a paid provider to get a second opinion. A free adviser can compare the Debt Arrangement Scheme, the Minimal Asset Process and sequestration alongside a trust deed, and a trust deed against sequestration is the comparison people most often want first.