What is bankruptcy in Scotland (sequestration)
Bankruptcy is a formal process in which you are declared bankrupt by the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) or a court. It is called sequestration in Scotland.
This information is for you if you live in Scotland.
When you are bankrupt, your finances are controlled by a person called a trustee. It is the trustee’s job to control all of your belongings and property (assets) with the aim of paying as much money as possible to the people you are in debt to (your creditors). You can apply for bankruptcy in Scotland if you can’t pay back your debts.
As well as applying for bankruptcy yourself, your creditors can apply to make you bankrupt, even if you don’t want them to. You must owe your creditors at least £3,000 for them to be able to make you bankrupt.
Bankruptcy is only one option to help with debt problems. If you are considering bankruptcy, you will need to get help from a money adviser.
Once an IVA is accepted, you will benefit from:
Things to consider:
How much does it cost to go bankrupt?
You will have to pay a fee to the Accountant in Bankruptcy to be made bankrupt.
The fee is £200 for standard bankruptcy and £90 for the Minimal Assets Process bankruptcy.
Expert debt advice
You can talk to one of our friendly debt advisers for more information about bankruptcy or your other options to clear your debt. We advise you do this before you pay a fee to make sure that bankruptcy is the best solution for you.