How a Debt Management Attorney Can Help You Take Control of Your Finances

The average American household has over $100,000 in consumer debt. No wonder so many people struggle to pay their bills. A debt management attorney can help you learn how to manage your debts. They can help you with strategies to help negotiate debts with your creditors, lowering the total amount of money that you owe. They can also help people develop strategies to help pay their debts, handle bill collectors, avoid garnishments and repossessions, and even improve their credit.

Many people offer credit repair. However, not every credit repair company is legitimate. You can challenge anything on your credit report that the credit companies cannot verify. They then have the opportunity to resubmit the negative entry with verification. This is important to note, since many people’s credit reports contain errors. It is a tool that many credit repair companies use to help people improve their credit score. However, it does not generally impact the amount of debt that you have.

While most creditors cannot garnish your wages without a court order, some can. People often get their wages garnished for child support and alimony obligations. You may also face wage garnishment if you owe back taxes or are late on student loan payments. Furthermore, if your creditors sue you for past-due amounts and get a judgment against you, the court may enter a judgment garnishing your wages. You can challenge wage garnishments for creditors. However, challenging a garnishment for child support or alimony may require the services of a family court attorney.

When you cannot pay your bills, a debt management attorney may be able to help. They can help you deal with collection agencies, deal with illegal debt collection methods, and advise you on whether debts are due. Lawyers can help you negotiate with creditors or teach you how to negotiate with creditors. Oftentimes, they can help you settle debts for a fraction of the amount owed.

Sometimes debt negotiation is not enough to help people escape from their debt. In those instances, bankruptcy may be their best option. A lawyer can help assess whether bankruptcy is an appropriate choice for you, and, if so, which chapters are best. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is quicker and discharges more debts but is not always an option. Chapter 13 has you repay a portion of your debts to your creditors and allows you to avoid foreclosure or vehicle repossession.