Portland Bankruptcy: Options with an Oregon Debt Settlement
To 'settle your debt' in common terms these days means to make an offer to your creditor for less then what's owed on the debt. This is one tactic that can remove the burden of the debt without having to file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This process is one that you can take on your own or find a firm or company that offers this service.
In our bankruptcy practice, our attorneys run across stories from our clients regarding debt settlement firms that they hired. The stories are mostly negative. Typically these firms cost thousands of dollars and do little or no work beyond what the client could do on their own. Most settlements will come in at about 40-60% off the original debt. You will need to have saved a pool of money to be able to fund these settlements and you'll have to contact each creditor one at a time and make your debt settlement offer.
Another thing to be mindful of when persuing the debt settlement route is taxes. Remember that any debt that is forgiven in the debt settlement process can or must be treated as taxable income. So if you settle your debt for 5,000 less that what's owed you may very well get a 1099-G at the end of the year increasing your taxes. If you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 filing with one of our Oregon based bankuruptcy lawyers you will not face an increased tax bill due to the discharge of your debt.
Finally the last issue to consider when doing a debt settlement in Portland or in Oregon in general is that the industry is lightly regulated. That means when making these payments its very important to get everything in writing, pay by a tracable means and basically be very careful. Our bankruptcy lawyers hear all the time people who think they have settled their debts getting new bills from different collection companies on the old debt....i.e. it never goes away and they are out the money.
When we are fairly negative on the settlement approach with the proper help and the right documentation it is a process that can work. If you have tangible assets that would make a bankruptcy filing unavailable or inefficient for you then debt settlement may be right. As always its a good idea to speak to a bankruptcy lawyer before you choose any one route.
In our bankruptcy practice, our attorneys run across stories from our clients regarding debt settlement firms that they hired. The stories are mostly negative. Typically these firms cost thousands of dollars and do little or no work beyond what the client could do on their own. Most settlements will come in at about 40-60% off the original debt. You will need to have saved a pool of money to be able to fund these settlements and you'll have to contact each creditor one at a time and make your debt settlement offer.
Another thing to be mindful of when persuing the debt settlement route is taxes. Remember that any debt that is forgiven in the debt settlement process can or must be treated as taxable income. So if you settle your debt for 5,000 less that what's owed you may very well get a 1099-G at the end of the year increasing your taxes. If you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 filing with one of our Oregon based bankuruptcy lawyers you will not face an increased tax bill due to the discharge of your debt.
Finally the last issue to consider when doing a debt settlement in Portland or in Oregon in general is that the industry is lightly regulated. That means when making these payments its very important to get everything in writing, pay by a tracable means and basically be very careful. Our bankruptcy lawyers hear all the time people who think they have settled their debts getting new bills from different collection companies on the old debt....i.e. it never goes away and they are out the money.
When we are fairly negative on the settlement approach with the proper help and the right documentation it is a process that can work. If you have tangible assets that would make a bankruptcy filing unavailable or inefficient for you then debt settlement may be right. As always its a good idea to speak to a bankruptcy lawyer before you choose any one route.
