The Role Of The Insolvency Practitioner

An Insolvency Practitioner is one of the most important in the whole Trust Deed process. It is thanks to their skill and judgment that hundreds of thousands of people have been able to deal with their debts properly since Scottish Trust Deeds were first introduced. But what exactly is their role and why are they so important?

What Is An Insolvency Practitioner?

An Insolvency Practitioner is a qualified accountant that specialises in insolvency law. They are highly qualified professionals with a deep understanding of the financial laws relating to insolvency and have undertaken key exams to gain a license to practice their services. Sometimes you find an IP who is a trained solicitor and has undertaken the accountancy side of things later, but usually it is the other way around.

What Do They Do?

Complete The Complex Paperwork And Court Proceedings

Trust Deeds in Scotland can only be set up and run by a licensed IP, so anyone wanting to get a formal arrangement must go through them. It’s a complex process full of legal pitfalls and because Trust Deeds are deeply entwined with Insolvency laws and are governed by them only qualified and appropriately licensed people can do the work involved.

Nominate You For A Trust Deed in Scotland

After establishing that you qualify for a Trust Deed, your IP will start the proceedings to put you forward or ‘nominate’ you for the solution. In a similar way to how an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) works, this involves the pulling together all your financial paperwork and other documents, which may involve speaking to your creditors to obtain the information required and drafting a proposal/draft agreement for your creditors to consider.

Once this is done, your IP contacts your creditors, circulates the proposal/agreement and then arranges a meeting with them all to discuss the proposal. This creditors meeting is the most important part of the Scottish Trust Deed process.

Run The Creditors Meeting As Chairperson

Once all the creditors are assembled on the day, your IP will explain what is happening, the points of the proposal that are the most important and ensure that each creditor has voted according to correct procedures needed to either accept or reject your Trust Deed proposal.

The creditors may agree, disagree or adjourn to consider the agreement further. Your IP has the power to adjourn the meeting and set another meeting if they feel the creditors are not advancing towards a decision quickly enough.

Represent Your Interests To Your Creditors

There’s no doubt that an IP must be a skilled negotiator if they are to persuade a number of your creditors to accept an offer to pay off a substantially reduced debt over five years. However, this is where an IP are worth their weight in gold – being able to put the case in the terms that creditors understand and respect enough to agree to.

Supervise The Trust Deed

If the Trust Deed gets the green light, the IP then moves into another role – that of supervising your case as it progresses. Here their focus is making sure the needs of the creditors are met and you adhere to the conditions of the agreement that you made with them. The IP will:

• Ensure your payments are collected from you on time and that your creditors receive their payments on time.
• Undertake annual reviews of your finances take place and any adjustments needed to keep it on course are made – your annual salary may increase or decrease or there may be bonuses or profit-share dividends.
• Undertake an assessment of your assets and arrange the valuation and sale of them if needed.
• Protect you from your creditors and ensure that you do not need to speak to them again.
• Ensure all the proper paperwork with your creditors and the Insolvency Service is in order at the end of the Trust Deed term, and dispense a discharge certificate

No other professional needs to have so much accountancy and legal knowledge to be licensed to practice as an IP. They are integral to the success of your Trust Deed, and a good IP is your ticket to keeping your creditors happy, clearing your debt and turning your life around in the future.

To find out more about Scottish Trust Deeds and whether they are right for you, call now and speak to one of our experienced debt advisers now on 0800 193 1024.