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Article by Trust Deed Scotland

Trust Deed Scotland as seen on STV are a leading introducer of Trust Deeds in Scotland and have launched a new campaign to raise awareness of Protected Trust Deeds and other Scottish debt remedies.

The new campaign, as heard on Real Radio and seen on the streets of Glasgow is aiming to educate the Scottish public on the range of debt solutions available to those with financial difficulties.

An analyst for the Scottish based, independent Trust Deed Scotland advised “We are seeking to educate people with debt problems living in Scotland that there is help available should they be struggling to control their personal finances.

The recent recession, job losses and subsequent cost of living rise has hit families hard all across the country.

In 2010, 7,980 people used a Protected Trust Deed to manage their debts and many thousands of Scots also used Debt Arrangement Schemes and the relatively new Certificates for Sequestration to clear debt that they couldn’t afford to repay.

Sadly, there are many more thousand people in Scotland who continue to struggle with debt because they either do not know that debt help is freely available or are poorly educated as to which options are open to them.

With our new campaign, launched initially on Real Radio, we hope to reach out to the people of Scotland and encourage them to seek help with their debt should they be struggling.”

A Trust Deed can help to clear up to 90% of unsecured debt when an individual owes more than ?10,000 to unsecured debts and allows an applicant to be debt free within a typical period of 36 months.

Trust Deeds and any other form of debt remedy will harm your credit rating and your home may be at risk if you fail to keep up repayment. Not everyone is suitable for a Trust Deed and depending on your personal circumstances; an alternative solution such as a Debt Arrangement Scheme may be more suitable.

A qualified money advisor from debt charities such as Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) or the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) can give advice as to which solution is the most appropriate for you, however, if you would like to find out if you are eligible or require debt advice you can contact TrustDeedScotland.net on 0141 221 0999 or complete the online form for a free call back. All debt advice given is completely confidential and without obligation.

The Real Radio campaign is broadcast in Scotland only.

Article by Trust Deed Scotland

If you have a burden of debt threatening to overwhelm you or sequestration looks likely, chances are you’ve already thought seriously about Trust Deeds and how they can help you. But you may have yet to decide to go ahead because of what you have heard about the effect that a Trust Deed can have on your credit rating. But do you know exactly how credit ratings work and why you are probably worrying unnecessarily about what a Trust Deed could do to yours?

What are credit ratings? Our credit rating system is an amazing record. Every single credit transaction that occurs in the UK is assigned to an individual, and permanent detailed record kept of how each of us uses credit. Lenders use this to estimate the credit worthiness of each of us based on our lending history. For example, have we ever had a Trust Deed, been sequestered or defaulted on a payment? Are we carrying to much debt or have too much credit and shouldn’t have any more?

Every lender has a wish-list of what they consider a perfect creditor to be, with ‘points’ added or deducted for various factors such as:

1. The amount of credit we have 2. Our spending patterns 3. Our current level of debt 4. Any defaults we have made on credit payments 5. The interest rates we are being charged

Our final score determines whether we will be given more credit based on whether we are over or under the lender’s threshold limit for a perfect customer.

How are credit ratings collected?

Credit reference agencies are responsible for collecting credit information and lenders will request it in the form of a credit check when we apply for credit. However, even if the information collected reflects the fact that we have a good credit history, it doesn’t mean we will be granted credit.

How do lenders use credit ratings? Lenders don’t want us to borrow little and pay everything back in full – we wouldn’t be considered the ideal customer. Credit ratings are used to see if there is the potential to make money from us. For example, a lender’s ideal customer might be someone who carries a balance on credit cards from month to month and always pays on time. They generate profit for the lender in the form of interest payments and have a good record of paying promptly. But there could come a time when that borrower turns into a bad risk if they take on too much credit. A Trust Deed is a sign of one of those times.

What effect do Trust Deeds have on credit ratings?

Trust Deeds have a negative affect on credit ratings. It is a sign you have asked a professional to manage your creditors, and part of a Trust Deed agreement is that creditors must write off a significant part of your debt. Lenders will be too nervous to give your credit after a Trust Deed has finished because they have lost money.

However, this is no reason to dismiss Trust Deeds as a debt solution. It is important to consider just how your existing debt is affecting your credit rating in the first place. If you are having serious financial problems it will be apparent to a lender from your credit score. You may have defaulted on payments already, or it will be clear that your debt payments are very close to exceeding your income so it will only be a matter of time before you default. Or eventually you will run up against a wall where you have used up all of your available credit and lenders will refuse your applications. If you have been living on credit, this is a very scary position to be in and it is often the point when most people start to look at Trust Deeds or considering sequestration.

What happens to credit ratings after a Trust Deed is complete? A Trust Deed stays on your credit record for lenders to see for many years afterwards and getting credit – certainly in the beginning of your debt-free life – will be very hard. This might not bother you if you have decided to stay as far away from credit as possible after your Trust Deed ends. However, if you need to obtain credit in the form of a mortgage for example, you will have to spend time rebuilding your credit record.

Article by Trust Deed Scotland

Debt advice from Trust Deed Scotland has helped thousands of individuals deal with their debts and begin the process of rebuilding their financial future.

As recently revealed by Trust Deed Scotland, high numbers of Scottish residents have used a PTD to clear their debts alongside other Scottish help options such as Debt Arrangement Schemes and Sequestration.

A PTD can help clear up to 90% of unsecured debt and allow a person to become debt free within a typical period of 36 months. Like sequestration, there is a severe effect on a person’s credit history and it may not always be a suitable option for homeowners. However, there are other forms of debt repayment that use Government legislation such as the Debt Arrangement Schemes (DAS) which may also be an effective debt repayment tool.

Recently, the CCCS have issued a warning over the debt levels of low income groups. The debt charity has said that the average unsecured debt of its clients earning up to £13,500 per annum is £12,870.

As personal insolvency grows and the recession continues to effect the lives of ordinary Scots, TrustDeedScotland have noticed that the number of companies now offering Trust Deed advice have increased as a result.

An analyst for the Glasgow based introducer advised “We are active debt relief campaigners in Scotland, trying to raise debt help awareness and offering free debt advice to all.

However, we also notice that there are now more companies than ever before out there also offering debt advice. While this seems like a positive step overall, there are some of those companies offering advice on personal finances who operate without credit consumer licences and so forth.

Our advice to people looking for Trust Deed advice is to shop around and try and get a couple of opinions.

Ethical providers of debt advice would never rush an individual into pursuing a Trust Deed and their advice should always be given as part of an overall Debt resolution service, therefore explains the pros and cons of a Trust Deed and any other debt solutions.”

If you are in debt, live in Scotland and need instant debt advice, or debt advice in general, you can speak to a money adviser at Trust Deed Scotland on 0141 221 0999. Thousands of Scottish residents every year look to clear ther debts in the same way, no matter which option you choose, if any, you are not alone.

Article by Robert Moment

In today’s highly competitive economy, it is difficult to maintain a significant market advantage based on your professional skills alone. Developing trusting relationships with your clients is vital to your business success as well. No matter what business you are in, the most powerful value-added contribution you can make to any business relationship is the trust factor.

The trust factor is even more critical in today’s business climate with the level of trust in Corporate America continuing to be at an all-time low, and suspicion of “all things corporate” remaining on the rise. To make matters worse, large corporations and small businesses alike continue to use antiquated techniques, such as gizmos and gadgets, to try to win over new clients. When instead, they should be trying to address the heart of the matter by utilizing trust-building techniques that will most effectively resonate with consumers and new prospects.

Clients and prospects are in search of trust in their business relationships, but building trust and credibility does not happen overnight. To cultivate trust, it takes the risk of being open with clients and prospects. This enables them to perceive you as a real person–one with strengths and weaknesses that come into play as the relationship develops. When trust is reciprocal, you will find that your confidence in others is rewarded by their support and reinforcement of what you also stand for as a business entity.

What is Trust

What is trust? Trust can be defined as a firm belief in the honesty of another and the absence of suspicion regarding his motives or practices. The concept of trust in business dealings is simple: Build on an individual’s confidence in you and eliminate fear as an operating principle.

Letting Go of Fear

Let go of fear, which restricts your ability to relate to others. Letting go frees you of behavioral constraints that can immobilize your emotional and professional development. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being hurt, fear of the unknown–all these are roadblocks to developing and growing a trusting relationship with clients. Let go of your fear of losing an account or not having the right answers. Leave all your fears at the client or prospect’s doorstep.

Other critical steps in cultivating trust are knowing who you are and knowing your potential value to your clients. The relationship that forms because of this can have a tremendous impact on your sales. People don’t just buy from anyone. They buy from people they can trust. The rapport and credibility you can establish with the trust factor go a long way toward building a client’s confidence in your ability to meet his business needs.

Trust has both an active and a passive component in a business relationship. The active feeling of trust is confidence in the leadership, veracity, and reliability of the other party, based on a track record of performance.

The passive feeling of trust is the absence of worry or suspicion. This absence is sometimes unrecognized and frequently taken for granted in our most productive relationships.

Building Trust With Care

So how do you build trust with clients? First, you need to care about them. Obviously your clients care about your knowledge, expertise, and accomplishments. However, they care even more about the level of concern you have for them. Successful trust building hinges on four actions: engaging, listening, framing, and committing. The trust factor can be realized once we understand these components of trust and incorporate them in our daily lives.

Engaging clients and prospects occurs when you show genuine concern and interest in their business and its problems. Maintain good eye contact and body posture. Good eye contact signifies openness and honesty. And your body language and other forms of nonverbal communication speak volumes about your attitude toward them. By the same token, you want to be cognizant of your client’s or prospect’s eye contact and body language.

Listening with understanding and empathy is possible if you think client focus first.Let the client tell his story. Put yourself in his shoes when you listen to his business concerns, purpose, vision, and desires. Show approval or understanding by nodding your head and smiling during the conversation. Separate the process of taking in information from the process of judging it. Just suspend your judgment and focus on the client. Framing what the client or prospect has said is the third action in trust building. Make sure you have formed an accurate understanding of his problems and concerns. Confirm what you think you heard by asking open-ended questions such as “What do you mean by that?” or “Help me to understood the major production problems you are experiencing.” After you have clarified the problems, start to frame them in order of importance. By identifying the areas in which you can help the client, you offer him clarity in his own mind and continue to build his trust.

Committing is the final action for developing the trust factor. Communicate enthusiastically your plan of action for solving the client’s problems. Help the client see what it will take to achieve the end result. Presumably, what you have said up to this point has been important, but what you do now–how you commit–is even more important. Remember the old adage “Action speaks louder than words.” Show you want this client’s business long term. Complete assignments and projects on budget and on time. Then follow up with clients periodically to see how your partnership is faring.

In the final analysis, trust stems from keeping our word. If we say we will be there for our clients, then we should honor that commitment by being there. Trust results from putting the client’s best interest before our own, from being dependable, from being open and forthcoming with relevant information. It is impossible to overestimate the power of the trust factor in our professional lives. Truly, trust is the basis of all enduring, long-term business relationships.

Question by gamma: How do I remove my home from its living trust without going through an attorney?
Hi..I have my house in a living trust. I have a chance to do a refi but the house can’t be in a living trust. Someone said I should be able to do the paperwork to remove the house from the trust, do the refi for the lower interest and then put the house back in the trust without having to pay the large attorney fees. Sooooo does anyone know what forms I would have to fill out and is it easy? Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by Iffy
You need a lawyer and the cost is roughly 4000 to break the trust.

What do you think? Answer below!

Article by Trust Deed Scotland

An IVA in Scotland does not exist as such as it is replaced in Scotland only by the Scottish equivalent, the Protected Trust Deed (PTD). A PTD can allow an individual to write off up to 90% of the unsecured debt that they owe.

The Protected Trust Deed normally lasts for a typical period of 36 months.

In order to qualify for a PTD in Scotland an individual would typically owe at least 10,000GBP to unsecured debts such as high street store cards, credit cards and unsecured loans.

What does the term Unsecured debt mean?

Unsecured means that the debt is not secured against an asset such as a car or house. Consolidation loans for example are normally secured against assets, so if you default on the arrangement then the creditor can make a claim against the asset, usually a home.

Do PTD really use Government legislation?

Yes. In order for the Trust Deed to become a PTD, according to the official Government legislation, the latest version being The Protected Trust Deeds (Scotland) Regulations 2008, then the various conditions of the act must be met in order to process a Trust Deed application. An insolvency practitioner is the only person who can administer the act for obvious reasons.

Most noticeable, in order for a Trust Deed to gain a Protected status, of your creditors two thirds of the overall debt value must agree to the repayment proposal and your insolvency practitioner must explain the act in great details.

Can I really write off up to 90% of my debt with a Protected Trust Deed?

The simple answer is yes, it is possible to write off up to 90% of your debt but it is rare to write off this much. The actual write off value depends on your own circumstances. Loosely speaking, here is how it works:

You subtract your expenditure from your income to form your disposable income as it is known. This disposable income is what is used to repay your creditors.

If you pay 225GBP for 36 months towards your debt then you would have repaid 8,100GBP after the typical period. If the overall debt owed is 25,000GBP then you would have written off 68% of your debt in this instance.

There are negatives also associated to committing to a Protected Trust Deed, e.g. If you have outstanding equity in your property or savings then you would be required to release this to your creditors in order to pay off some of the debt. You are also forbidden from attaining credit while on a Trust Deed and even three years after your Trust Deed has ended, you may struggle to get credit. Bear in mind, there are steps that you can take to repair your credit rating.

The Protected Trust Deed is a viable option to use when you are looking to clear debts and you live in Scotland, however, it doesn’t suit everyone and there are other options available. You can speak to a qualified money advisor free of charge to discuss if a PTD is a good option for you.

Question by Hunter: Tax Question regarding money received from a living trust?
I received money from a relatives living trust in 2009. I received a k-1 distribution tax form so I can file my taxes for 2009. I am doing my taxes on turbo tax. Is there anything I need to know when reporting this…any tax breaks..etc

Best answer:

Answer by tro
you report the K1 as instructed to do, there will probably be different kinds of income ie. interest, dividends etc, so you report them where appropriate

Give your answer to this question below!

There are just too many investment instruments that investors can take these days to ensure that their capital would grow. One of such investments is the trust deed investment. For those who are already in it, trust deed investing is a lucrative and easy means to grow investment dramatically. But for many, there just are too much yet to learn about the system and the basic processes of the transactions. To better understand the dynamics of trust deeds, it would be ideal if the basic players would be identified, and their basic roles be defined.

The first basic player in trust deeds is of course the borrower, who is called the ‘trustor’. The trustor is called such because he or she would be the party who would get the loan amount. In return, the trustor would have to entrust a home or land title as a security or collateral for the loan amount. The title would be surrendered and would be kept by a party assigned, which would be identified later on, until the loan is completely paid with matching interest. The borrower is the source of earnings for any trust deed investment. If you would get into trust deed investing, you should recognize the important role he trustor has in the profit chain of every trust deed.

The second basic player in trust deed investing is the lender also called the ‘beneficiary’. You know that usually, beneficiaries include banks and financial institutions. Such institutions or lenders usually make a living and revenues from accruing interests from loan amounts provided to borrowers. The role of the beneficiary is sometimes direct, meaning, they transact directly wit borrowers. But in most developed markets, there is a third mediating party. And this party completes the definition and the system of any trust deed investment.

The ‘trustee’ is the third party that mediates between the lender and the borrower. In the past, trustees did not exist, until a systematic lending in Scotland was adopted by all other important markets. Because not many people find comfort in surrendering titles of homes and lands directly to banks as securities for loans, the participation of a third party that would serve as a repository somehow provides peace of mind and security to appease borrowers. Thus, trust deeds were born.

If you aim to make a trust deed investment, you should direct your capital into trustees or trust deeds themselves. Trust deed investing would really make your money grow tremendously and robustly. That is because it is a common knowledge that trust deeds impose bigger interest rates than other forms of lenders. Trust deed investing is one way how anyone can earn interests from capital investments.

Trust deed investing is really effective. That is why there is no wonder, more and more investors prefer to take a trust deed investment.

You don’t have to be wealthy to need a will in regards to your personal property.  After you’re gone, legal wrangling can become time consuming for family members left behind and often creates indecision and fighting amongst potential beneficiaries as your wishes may not be clear. A will is usually straightforward and simply put is a legal document that specifies how your property will be dispersed at the time of your death. It can be revoked or amended at any point in your lifetime, and can be used to appoint a guardian for any children that are not yet of legal age.

Another option to be considered is a living trust. A living trust handles property management of all assets and all of these assets are transferred to the trust. Typically, you will act as your own trustee while specifying who will act as trustee upon your death. A living trust has the added benefit of avoiding probate after you die and preventing public disclosure of all your private financial matters. A living trust does have some drawbacks. It must be maintained and any new property acquired must be transferred to the trust or it will not be under the protection of the trust.  A living trust is also more expensive to initiate and must be managed.  Generally a living trust is recommended if your estate exceeds a specific dollar amount, you have minor children, you’re willing to manage the trust, and if you want control of when your beneficiaries receive any assets.

A simple will might be a better option if there is informal probate available where you live.  Informal probate is a greatly expedited form of probate and is generally available to those whose estate is under a certain dollar amount.  If you are single without children, and you don’t own a business, it probably isn’t necessary to set up a living trust and a simple will is sufficient. Upon your death, the executor of your estate will submit your will along with a petition to the probate court. The petition requests that the will be accepted as legal and valid and request that the executor named in the will be legally appointed. Any heirs, beneficiaries, or creditors must be notified of the submission of the will and have a specific amount of time to challenge it or submit claims against the estate.

This process does not apply to living trusts, which is why many people opt for a living trust versus a will.

Each person’s situation is unique and should be evaluated by an attorney who is familiar with estate law.  Talk to your family and determine who will handle your affairs after your death. With everyone understanding who will handle which aspects of the estate and what to expect, the loss of a family member is a less stressful one.

A living trust is quite similar to a will. Like a will, you can name specific beneficiaries or heir/s to your property and assets after your death. But unlike a will, a trust can already benefit you while you are still alive. There is also the freedom to create a joint living trust as well, which is, basically, the assets of husband and wife combined together in a single trust governed by a single trust document. But, like a will, creating a trust also requires certain requirements and formalities.

You must first clearly state the intention of your trust – why you are creating a trust and the goals and intentions with it. The subject of your trust must be clearly indentified as well. General descriptions of your pieces of property are abstract, may be tangible or intangible, and may be in the form of cash, real estate, shares, and the like, so it is wise to describe the precise extent of the property you wish to be included in your trust to avoid any confusion. Replace words that may be interpreted several ways and clearly specify the pieces of property.

And not only should the property and the intention be specified, but the beneficiaries of your trust, as well. They must be clearly identified, again, to avoid misunderstanding. Beneficiaries may include future children or grandchildren, etc. (basically people who may have not been born yet at the time the trust was created), and may also include organizations for charity, not just certain individuals. The trustees may choose beneficiaries in some cases but the creator of the trust known as the settlor has the complete liberty to name beneficiaries on his/her own. It is wise to specify them as clearly as possible.