Keep your emotions in check when dealing with your financial problems. No one wants to file bankruptcy, but sometimes it’s your only meaningful option. “I don’t want to file bankruptcy,” a client said to me the other day. “No one does,” I replied. I explained that any good bankruptcy lawyer will explain non-bankruptcy options—like debt [...]
debt settlement
You can’t turn on a radio or watch TV without hearing or seeing commercials for debt settlement companies that suggest that they are a better choice than bankruptcy. Many, including myself, believe that these companies are scams. There have been several articles on the Bankrptcy Law Network site that discuss the problems with debt collection companies, [...]
Often people come to see me who have been working with a debt settlement company but are unable to manage the payments to the debt settlement company or get discouraged with the whole process. How can bankruptcy be better? To be clear, a debt settlement company is an entity that will take your money in [...]
The lead article in the Economy section of the June 18, 2010 New York Times offers revealing insight into the practices of “debt settlement” companies. Debt settlement companies position themselves as alternatives to bankruptcy, suggesting that they have insight into “secrets that the credit card companies don’t want you to know.” In fact, the business [...]
An alternative to bankruptcy tops every debtor’s wish list. “Don’t file bankruptcy”, warn debt settlement companies on the radio, feeding that desire. Instead, they want you to pay your money to them. They say they will help you save up a big pot of money and then settle your debts for pennies on the dollar [...]
Under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, if a debt is discharged in a bankruptcy case, it does NOT count as taxable income. Bankruptcy-discharged debt is, therefore, much more powerful than merely canceled debt. While canceled debt may create an income tax liability, discharged debt does not. See What is a 1099c and what do I do [...]
