Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Sequestration definition

What does Sequestration mean? In Scottish insolvency practice, sequestration is the bankruptcy process for an insolvent individual or partnership, under which the debtor’s estate is taken into custody and vested in a trustee for the benefit of creditors. It is governed by the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016. An award of sequestration may follow a debtor application to the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) or a creditor petition to the sheriff court. On award, most assets vest in the trustee in sequestration; diligence is stayed; claims are adjudicated; and assets and income (via any Debtor Contribution Order) are realised to pay a dividend....

Confiscation of assets (sequestration) for contempt in family proceedings under FPR 2010 Part 37 (England and Wales): background, procedure and case law

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

Practice notes

Sequestration

Sequestration provides a means of responding to Contempt of Court that might otherwise lead to committal, acting as a measure that allows the Respondent’s assets to be taken and kept until the relevant order is complied with.

Attention should be paid to the amendments made to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, taking effect on 1 October 2020, which significantly altered the position regarding sequestration under the FPR 2010 as it then stood. Corresponding revisions were also implemented in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), SI 1998/3132; see: Background and News Analysis: Changes to contempt of court in family proceedings.

Sequestration arises in two distinct settings.

This Practice Note focuses solely on the confiscation of assets (encompassed by the term sequestration) in proceedings for contempt under the substituted FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 37, effective from 1 October 2020, and is separate from sequestration used as an enforcement method; for that, see Practice Note: Sequestration to enforce a financial order. For practical guidance on contempt and committal more generally, see: Contempt and committal in family proceedings—overview...

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David Salter

David Salter has enjoyed a varied career in family law with over 45 years’ experience. He served as National Head of Family Law at Addleshaw Goddard and, subsequently, as Joint National Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve, retiring in 2018.From 1997-1999, David was Chairman of Resolution, also acting as the first Chairman of Resolution’s Accreditation Committee. He subsequently became President of the International Academy of Family Lawyers from 2010 to 2012, having previously served as the Academy's European Chapter President.He has sat in various part-time judicial posts since 1985 sitting regularly as a deputy High Court judge and Recorder in the Family Court until March 2022. He now conducts private financial dispute resolution appointments.David was one of the original members of the Family Procedure Rules Committee which framed the 2010 Rules, serving a ten-year term from 2004 to 2014.He is a...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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