Deed of Trust

Question: Unemployment Question. Anyone help?

I am currently unemployed and claiming my £60 odd a week to live off. The problem is I currently have a Trust Deed as well which is another £125 a month. Since this is a legal agreement am I entitled to freeze my Trust Deed payments while im unemployed or even claim the £125 a month in benefits too??? I have been in the Trust Deed for 2 years now and unemployed for a month and forgot to mention it when I signed on! Very stupid I know but I was stressed being unemployed

So can i claim the Trust Deed payments or freeze it or is it tough luck and i have to pay it out my £60 odd a week I get for Jobseekers allowance?
Im not receiving income from the Trust Deed. I have to pay the Trust Deed!! Its like bankruptcy in scotland but your all your loans are frozen and you enter an agreement to pay less than your monthly payments. Mine is £125 a month and its a legal contract. The problem is id be toiling to pay that off the jobseekers allowance.

Answer: You get £60 a week because the law says you need that much to live on. The law does not say that you must pay your debts out of it! You should inform the trustee who administers the Trust Deed that you are unemployed and that you will need to reduce your payments until you get another job. Your creditors can choose whether or not to freeze or end the Trust Deed or whether they will accept a lot less per month whilst you are unemployed, (say £20 a month). You are under no obligation to inform the Jobcentre of the Trust Deeds existence because they will not make any payment towards it.

The following is an extract from a website dealing with Trust Deeds:

A Trust Deed is a legally binding agreement between an individual who is unable to pay his or her creditors and a licensed Insolvency Practitioner (the Trustee). The Trustee will put together a form of proposals to the Creditors for approval and administer the Trust Deed. It allows you to pay as much of your debts as your assets and/or your monthly surplus income will allow, usually over a three-year period.

Note the bit about monthly surplus income. Make a reasonable offer of payment given your current circumstances and your creditors will not have a legal leg to stand on if they refuse it.

Protected Trust Deed helps debt