Debt Negotiation Lawyers in Boca Raton
Helping to Get You Out from Under Your Debt
The Boca Raton bankruptcy attorneys at the Klein Law Group can help individuals burdened with substantial outstanding debt eliminate problem debt relatively quickly without impacting monthly payment amounts. How, you may ask? Debt negotiation services are designed to help you obtain the best possible deal with creditors so you can pay off your debt completely, rather than leaving you in a situation where you are making minimum monthly payments that will continue endlessly or that will force you to file bankruptcy. Our experienced lawyers have a proven debt negotiation strategy that gives creditors the incentive they need to reach a debt settlement arrangement that is agreeable to both parties.
Consider this…
If you are a typical American family, you have about $25,000-$30,000 worth of credit card debt (excluding mortgages, car loans, and student loan payments) and you’re paying between $500 to $900 every month in endless minimum payments.
Unfortunately, at this rate, assuming you stop using the cards, it will take you 20-30 years to pay off your debts using the minimum payment method.
The good news is that you don’t have to wait that long to see your debts disappear. You can be out of debt in less than three years, without increasing your monthly spending!
Klein Law Group has a powerful, proven method to eliminate your problem debt in the fastest possible time. Discover how to rid yourself of burdensome debt without having to experience the loss of control and privacy associated with filing bankruptcy.
It’s called Debt Negotiation.
Debt negotiation is really just haggling for the best deal for your debts. It’s that simple.
With the help of our attorneys, you could see your $25,000 credit card debt turn into $12,500 or even as little as $3,000. Through the specialist of our debt negotiation team, the odds are very good that we can cut your debt in HALF or more.
How it Works
Let’s say your $25,000 credit card debt is made up of $5,000 to five creditors. Our attorneys will make contact with your creditors to inform them of your hardship and your intention to “settle” the account. The timing of this process is usually based on how late you are on the debt and the amount of funds you have available for settlement. During the initial months, most banks will not settle.
This is not an overnight process. Sometimes it takes 5-6 months or more to reach an agreeable settlement. Let’s say that three more months have elapsed. Over a total of four months, you’ve set aside $2,000 in your settlement fund (minimum payment of $500 times four months), because you haven’t sent regular payments to your creditors for three months.
What happens next? One of the five creditors decides to get it over with and agrees to accept a 50% settlement, provided payment of the full $2,500 can be made within 30 days. Since that gives you another month to work with, you’ll have the $2,500 from your settlement budget. Your attorney obtains a written settlement offer from the bank and sends you a copy. You release the funds, payable to the creditor, and the attorney forwards the payment on your behalf. Everything is properly documented for your protection and nothing is left to chance.
So what just happened? You paid $2,500 to wipe out $5,000 worth of debt, and saved $2,500 in the process. After five short months, your total debt stands at $20,000, instead of the original $25,000. You’ve eliminated 20% of your problem debt in only five months!
Further, you’ve traded an open situation for a closed one. That $5,000 debt that we just settled would have continued growing and growing. Instead, we’ve traded that never-ending situation for a defined settlement of $2,500, and once you’ve paid that $2,500, you’re done with that debt. It’s out of your life forever!
The debts are negotiated one at a time, based on your budget and your ability to handle the settlements. The other four creditors are informed of the first settlement by your attorney, when it is appropriate to do so—and to encourage the other creditors to cooperate.
The other creditors simply have to wait their turn. Now, let’s do the math to see how long it would take to completely wipe out $25,000 worth of debt using this approach. If we cut $25,000 in half (50% settlements), that’s $12,500 in remaining debt, divided by the $500 per month budget, equals 25 months. So in a little over two years, you could be completely debt free, without spending any more per month than they were already paying in minimum installments!
Will this Strategy Work for You?
The debt negotiation strategy is not for everybody. But for those who qualify, it’s a no-nonsense financial recovery program that makes good sense.
The list of questions below will help you decide whether or not you should consider debt negotiation:
1. Do you have a legitimate financial hardship condition?
This will usually take the form of loss of income, medical condition, death of a family member, divorce or separation, loss of child support payments, or some other serious event that caused a severe financial setback. It doesn’t always have to be drastic but there should be an identifiable circumstance (or set of circumstances) that got you into financial trouble.
2. Are you committed to avoiding bankruptcy?
Just about every debtor who tries to negotiate with a bank threatens bankruptcy. A proper debt negotiation strategy will take the opposite position by promising that bankruptcy will not be filed if the creditor agrees to a workable arrangement. This promise is essential to the process.
3. Do you owe more than $7,500 in unsecured debt?
If your debt level is much below that, it becomes unrealistic to apply negotiation strategies at the aggressive level we’ve outlined above. Discounts can still be obtained and favorable arrangements made but frankly, major reductions in debt are much more difficult to obtain. A level of $20,000 to $50,000 is more typical, although there is no fixed rule. It also depends on the exact nature of the debt and who the creditor is.
4. Are your debts primarily from credit cards?
The negotiation strategy described above works well for a variety of debts but the hands down winner is credit card debt. The steepest discounts and greatest success can be obtained with credit card accounts. Department store charge cards, financing contracts, and miscellaneous bills can also be negotiated, but with less predictable results. Medical bills are often negotiable, depending on the background of the case, usually with good results. Generally, student loans cannot be negotiated (since these are Federal loans, Uncle Sam can dip his hands into your tax refund to collect the balance). Auto loans can be refinanced, but generally not reduced. Mortgages can be rescued from foreclosure with a variety of techniques, but of course you’ll still be on the hook for full value.
5. Is your monthly budget up to the job?
All the best intentions in the world won’t help if you have nothing to offer your creditors. A good rule of thumb is that your monthly budget should be around $150-$200 for every $10,000 of debt. So if you owe, say, $30,000 total, then your monthly budget should be around $450-$600. However, you get the best results if you have a lump sum of cash from the start.
6. Do you have additional resources to work with?
Even if you can only manage a small monthly amount toward debt reduction, are there other resources at your disposal? Examples include cash-value insurance policies, borrowing from family, or even the sale of unneeded household items. Is there other property you could sell to raise capital?
If you’re ready to move forward with debt negotiation, we ask that you:
#1: Don’t talk to your creditors.
Only one person can negotiate your debts for you. If you only allow the attorney to handle some of the phone calls while you handle other calls yourself, the odds are high that you will say something that is not in your best interest, thereby undermining your attorney. Your attorney knows exactly what information to disclose, when to disclose it, and when to withhold information.
#2: Delay sending more money to your creditors until they settle on a mutually-agreeable sum.
Successful negotiation of your debts will require a reasonable compromise with your creditors. It’s important that you save as much money as possible each month for your attorney to work with.
If you are in a condition of financial hardship, committed to avoiding bankruptcy, owe more than $7,500 of credit card debt, and have some resources to work with, then you should definitely give serious consideration to the debt negotiation strategy.
What’s The Next Step?
To see whether you qualify for this program, just give us a call at 561-353-2800. We offer a FREE consultation with no obligation.
After we’ve gained an understanding of your situation, we can advise you whether this approach will work for you.
You have nothing to lose, except that debt!