Can you answer Randa’s question about Bankruptcy?:

My husband and I recently purchased a house. Right before our purchase we found out about a delinquent credit card. To make a long story short, it was a credit card that was in my husband’s name that he was to use when he was in college that his mom was supposed to be paying for. My husband had no idea that there was a delinquency until we were notified by our lender. The account has been closed since 2002. It states on his credit report that the “account closed at consumers request, charged off account, bad debt; placed for collections; skip.” We do not want to bother his Mom about this. After no communication with Discover, for 5 years, we have now received a letter from Northstar Location Services, a collection agency (not from Discover), for a settlement amount which is 40% of the debt. What should we do, contact Discover, deal with the collection agency, or something else? I realize everything needs to be in writing beforehand, but can anyone advise me on this at all?
I will check out your other posts, Studly, thanks…as far as my concern with it, it is mainly because of the recent contact with the collection agency now after so many years. We were still able to get the loan for our house, so I am not really concerned about that part of it. Since it “technically” wasn’t our debt, but my mother in law’s, the bank didn’t really care. Actually the amount was pretty significant, $3000 with an offered settlement of $1200, which is why I’m extremely surprised that we were not contacted before about this. I believe the statute of limitation on credit cards is 3 years in our state. I know they can still take us to court over it but its probably unlikely since the statute of limitations has run out. I just don’t want to settle on an amount and still have it show up on our credit history for another 7 years. I think this just may be a last ditch effort by the collection agency to get some money and I just want to make sure we make the right decision.

Bankruptcy Tips

Can you answer sandhsand’s question about Bankruptcy?:

This month makes 10 full years since I filed full bankruptcy. What steps can I take now to get it off my record?

How To File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Can you answer jmartinsgal’s question about Bankruptcy?:

Any information on debt settlement companys and alike is greatly appreciated!

Alternatives To Bankruptcy

Debt Settlement in California is one of the most effective and used methods of debt reduction these days. It is also called debt negotiation and/or debt reduction. Debt settlement in California is a program that can take from 1 up to 4 years to complete. It is a very interesting process that goes from negotiation with creditors and requesting interest reductions to debt reductions up to the 45 percent of the whole debt.

Debt settlement in California is always been one of the most used solutions for those people who feel that they are not able to pay the mandatory quotas from loans or credit cards.

- How does debt settlement in California work ? -

Well, let’s look at a simple example in order to visualize the whole situation:

Let’s say that a regular customer:

- This person is $35.000 in credit card debt. He/she will have to make payments of $600 for 30 months more or less. This process includes all our fees. On the other hand, if the person stays with his/her current situation and keeps on paying the way it is meant to, his/her payments will be as follows:

- The person with the $35.000 debt will have to pay the quota the bank demands and an interest charge of 18 percent. This way the debtor will only be able to make minimum payment.

The average costumer will be able to save up to $15.000 or even more because the interest charges were reduced by the program. This is the debt settlement method in California

- How does somebody apply for this ? -

Well, although the savings may be very appealing to anybody, in order to apply for this debt settlement in California, clients will have to fall behind on payment. This how they will earn the right to apply for the program and use all the benefits it offers.

Debt Settlement in California has some consequences regarding the credit report. People will not be able to apply for loans during their time in the program, but this should not matter much because they are in the process of regaining control of their financial lives.

People should know that after they finish paying off every one of their debts, their credit score will go back as to where it was before, as long as they keep their payments current and stay out of debt.

- Do I get any advantages applying to Debt Settlement in California? -

Regardless of what state you live in, your credit may suffer as a result of using the Debt Settlement program, especially in the short-term. One advantage of Debt Settlement in California is that there are highly favorable state collection laws that do not exist in other states, which ban certain types of creditor harassment. You can relax knowing that the government protects you against collection agencies.

Remember to always take a look at different debt relief methods because there are different ways to approaching debt. It also depends on the kind of debt you have, and how you want to deal with it. There are ways of speeding up the whole debt settlement process, but it will require you use savings or take on an extra loan to pay off the other debts.

In spite of of what the problem may be, remember two things: first, always seek professional counseling before deciding what to do about your debt, and second, take bankruptcy as your last resort because it is a very serious issue and can take years to recover from it.

Debt settlement in California is solution easy on the pocket. Think about it and decide to become debt free once again.

We have different articles on interesting topics and current and former clients’ experiences with our programs. Take a look at the different situations on Debt settlement in California and debt related topics that people can fall into and how to keep yourself a debt free person.

Check these links to learn more:

http://www.debt-negotiation-settlement.com/plan.htm

http://www.debt-negotiation-settlement.com/debtConsolidation.htm



Thanks to Elizabeth Laurent for contributing this article to our Bankruptcy blog:

Personal Bankruptcy Advice

Nobody plans for bankruptcy, especially with the tightening of the bankruptcy laws that has been done in recent years, but whether it is for your business or your personal life, sometimes bankruptcy is your best option. While bankruptcy should always be considered to be your last resort, sometimes it is also your best option.

But how do you know when bankruptcy is right for you? Like anything else, you need to make sure you have investigated and validated all other possible alternatives. With the huge importance of making sure that bankruptcy is the option you want to pursue, this step is critical. Yet it is amazing that many people do not investigate all other possible options, and may not even be aware of the number of other options that are available to them, and they file bankruptcy with no more planning than if they were buying a dozen eggs.

So your financial status is bleak but that does not mean bankruptcy is your only viable option. You see, bankruptcy carries with it a whole series of things which will stay with you for years after your filing, and that is a huge burden to bear. For example, filing for bankruptcy will put a huge red mark, a warning flag, on your credit report for about 7 to 10 years. You may be able to get credit after filing bankruptcy, but be prepared for the fact that establishing new credit is not going to be easy, and the interest rates offered are going to be far from prime.

There are some things that bankruptcy will not absolve you of. For example, if you are responsible for making child support payments each month, those payment requirements will continue even after filing bankruptcy. This type of debt cannot be discharged via bankruptcy, since bankruptcy is more geared towards problems with credit and unsecured debt. Student loans are also usually not eligible for inclusion in a bankruptcy debt discharge, since student loans typically originate from a government source.

The world of bankruptcy is very complex and unless you yourself are a financial expert, you are best advised to seek advice from a qualified attorney who specializes in bankruptcies. There is a maze of legal requirements, and for some types of bankruptcy, believe it or not, you may not even be eligible!

Before you consider bankruptcy, you should sit down and take the time to determine what put you in your current situation, and what can you learn from that. It is always much more than “not enough sales” in the business world, or “too much credit card debt” in your personal world. Take several steps back and really focus on the root cause of how you got where you are. In business, did you try to expand faster than you should have? In your personal life, were you trying to lead a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget? These are tough questions to ask, but you need to ask yourself and get a real answer. During the bankruptcy process, these questions will be asked of you, and one of the things that will be expected is that you will have learned some things from this experience so that it doesn’t happen again in the future after you have re-established yourself.

Your best option is to talk with a qualified attorney who specializes in bankruptcy cases. There is a form at our web site that will allow you to talk with a lawyer who is local to you and make a real determination about your need to file bankruptcy. Like anything else, being informed with the facts and options is more than half way towards winning the battle.



Thanks to Jon Arnold for contributing this article to our Bankruptcy blog:

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan