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[Dodgeum]

Hi there. I am thinking about sequestration as I have debts of around £30,000 and can only afford about £90 a month due to a change in circumstances. However I do have a car worth about £2500 which I need for work. Will I be able to keep this? Also i am worried about my family finding out as they live in the same town. Will the sequestration be advertised locally or just in Edinburgh? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Amy Jellings]

Hi Dodgeum.

The key points are whether your trustee agrees that the car is worth less than £3000 and whether you have a genuine need to keep the vehicle.

If you have a reasonable need, and the car is worth less than £3000, there should be no problem keeping it.

There will be no proactive advertising locally of your situation, (with some very rare exceptions when publicity is given to individuals that have behaved especially poorly prior to sequestration). The details will be kept on a public register than anyone can access, but they'd almost certainly need to go looking for it.

[James Falla]

Hello Dogeum and welcome to the forum.

As Amy rightly says, as long as you can prove that your car is worth less than £3000 and you have a genuine need then there should be no issue. Have you checked the value of your car against other similar ones on Auto Trader or the Glasses Guide?

Sequestration is no longer publically advertised in the local newspaper so you really have nothing to worry about there. A record of everyone who is currently bankrupt is held by the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB). This register is searchable on line for free. As such if someone really wanted to know if you are in sequestration or not, they could find out. However they would have to carry out a specific search on your name rather than just coming accross it in a newspaper.