How Debt Settlement Can Get You Back On The Road To Financial Stability
Despite their best efforts to budget, many people have found that their debt has gotten out of control. While bankruptcy is an option that many people will take advantage of, it can sometimes be impractical. Debt settlement is an alternative to bankruptcy that allows the debtor to settle their debts without selling their assets, or giving a bankruptcy court control over their finances.
Also known as debt arbitration,
debt settlement is a process of negotiations between the debtor and creditor to reduce the debt with one lump sum. This differs from debt consolidation because during the consolidation process, the debtor takes out one large loan in order to pay off the other loans. Sometimes this allows the consumer to avoid higher interest fees from credit card companies, while taking on one singular debt with a lower interest fee. Instead, during the debt settlement process, the debtor makes their monthly payments to a third party, who will then hold onto the funds until a settlement is reached between the third party and the debtor's creditors.
Therefore, there are no payments made directly to the creditor until the consolidation company has agreed to a debt settlement. Many creditors would prefer to settlement the debt with the consumer before they are forced to file for bankruptcy because a bankruptcy filing sometimes allows the debtor to write-off the entire debt, and pay nothing. Many consumers like to avoid bankruptcy filings because they can be very intrusive. Depending on the filing, a bankruptcy court can force a debtor to sell their assets and ask the court for permission to acquire any new debt.
A lawyer can handle professional debt settlement on behalf of their client for a small percentage of the outstanding debt. Some may choose to take on this process on their own, and their will be many advantages and disadvantages to taking on this financial recovery project. This will be very time-consuming for the debtor because they must make written communications with each collection agency or creditor.
Avoiding settlement fees is one of the biggest advantages to communicating directly with the creditor to settle the debt. However, there will be more advantages for the consumer if they choose to hire a third party to handle their debt settlement. For instance, professional debt settlement companies tend to come up with a more favorable settlement much quicker than a consumer working on their own. Furthermore, a lawyer will be familiar with current banking and regulation laws that could have an affect on their client's settlement proceedings.
New laws and regulations make bankruptcy filings very difficult for most consumers with a reasonable amount of debt. Therefore, it might be better to consider debt settlement when you're ready to rebuild your finances. Consider hiring a professional to make the process much faster and easier, it will be well worth the settlement fees.
