Debt Settlement Vs Bankruptcy

By Terry Stanfield

If you are beaten down by debt and are considering filing for bankruptcy, you should know you have another choice. This article will debate the differences of debt settlement vs bankruptcy and how you to find out which option is the the best for you.

Bankruptcy is a legal process that offers relief to consumers devastated by excessive debt by discharging their finance needs. However, in accordance with a stricter bankruptcy law effective October 2005, very few folks qualify for chapter seven bankruptcy. In chapter thirteen, the court decides the monthly amount you should pay according to acceptable living expenses, which are not decided by your exact costs, but by IRS schedules.

You can discover what type of bankruptcy you qualify for by reading the current bankruptcy code which can be found in the internet, but unless you are familiar with complex legal language, you'll be better off reading a good book on the topic. In addition, bankruptcy may affect future roles and loan applications.

Debt settlement, often referred to as debt negotiation, requires negotiating with creditors to settle for 50% or less of the sum owing. With debt negotiation you have two options: hire a debt settlement company and be ready to pay at least 15% of your total debt or do your own bargaining with the help of a reputable coaching course and pay a little fraction of what you would pay a debt settlement firm.

Unlike bankruptcy, debt settlement isn't a matter of official record and negative data stays in your credit history for as much as 7 years, but you can reconstruct your credit in 1 to two years, the payments are flexible and are controlled by you, not by the court. The period of chapter thirteen is 5 years with fixed payments dictated by the court, the period of a debt settlement program, depending on your monthly budget and other monetary factors, is from half a year to 3 years.

If you decide to file bankruptcy, your best bet will be to talk to a bankruptcy attorney. However if you wish to go with debt negotiation, is best to discover more details about the do it yourself approach and the debt settlement firm. Hopefully, this will help you in your quest to dump your debt and make a last call as to what program is best for your particular situation. - 29866

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