Post By markmcfadyen in Mark McFadyen's Scottish Protected Trust Deeds Blog
Hi all
This is my first attempt at a Protected Trust Deed blog, so be gentle!
Kevin from Tenon and I recently met with Andrew from the site to be 'interviewed' I think the results of the Protected Trust Deed interview will appear on the site later.
I thought I would use the blog to expand on some of the topics discussed on protected trust deeds and other associated matters and hopefully be interesting.
I have being involved in Insolvency for 20+ years and am still to this day surprised, especially as a result of the postings on the site, at the variation on procedures and interpretations in companies who deal with protected trust deeds and, I suppose, other forms of insolvency. The job itself I find fascinating as there are very few jobs where every day is different. One day we can be dealing with an individual with debt problems, the next I could be running a Pub up North or restructuring a business.
As a bit of backround, trust deeds are part of the The Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985. The legislation is contained in a section called Schedule 5 which outlines the process. This is the legislation part, however we also work under very strict guidance and best practice procedures which are called SIP's ( Statements of Insolvency Practice) These outline the process in Trust Deeds before, during and after signing.
2 Parts of the guidance are as follows:
3.1 The member, whom failing, a suitably experienced member of staff, prior to the signing of the trust deed, should always offer to meet the individual personally. However the member or a suitably experienced member of staff may conduct the initial interview on the telephone. If the interviewer forms the opinion that either they do not fully understand the matters described in sections 3.2 - 3.10 of the SIP or has not adequately disclosed his financial circumstances, the member should insist that a meeting in person be conducted.
3.2 A full file note of the initial and any subsequent meetings or telephone interviews should be prepared and a copy should be sent, or reproduced in a letter.
The reason I have posted the above is curiosity as to how individual firms deal with the above. In all cases we deal with, a meeting is arranged at the individuals home or in this office or at another suitable venue. I often wonder if the initial Trust Deed meeting is daunting to the individual, but have to say I have never been to a meeting where there have been any issues. The meeting is informal and is used ONLY to advise of the options and answer any questions. Paperwork is NEVER signed at the 1st meeting. As you probably see from my posts, I tend to rant about getting things in writing. I think this is singularly the most important issue as it protects both the individual and the IP.
Following the initial meeting, we always prepare a letter and minutes of the meeting to ensure the info is correct. This also outlines EXACTLY how the Protected Trust Deed will operate, so there will be no deviation. Not all meetings result in protected trust deeds and I have attended more than a few where other options were more appropriate. One other thing, there is no charge wahtsoever for the meetings. To be honest, I enjoy the trip and get to see parts of Scotland I would not otherwise see.
I would be interested in learning if all practitioners adopt this approach.
Well thats BLOG 1 out of the way. I'll try to update regularly with some interesting, technical and even some funny stuff from some historical cases I've dealt with.