Bankruptcy Tips – How Consumer Debt Settlements Are Surpassing Bankruptcy

If you are deep in debt and are getting worried and looking for bankruptcy tips then I have some advice for you. Bankruptcy is getting harder to get and will damage your credit score very much. However nowadays consumer debt settlements are surpassing bankruptcy due to some new laws.

Previously it was easier to file for chapter 7. A lot of people went bankrupt. However the financial institutions were not happy with this and this was hurting the economy. Eventually a new legislation was passed which is stricter. So now it is harder to get chapter 7. What is being focused now on is chapter 13 which is debt restructuring. In it you still have to pay back your loans but the law will decide what to do with you and how to force you to pay back your dues. You will either get 3 years or 5 years to pay it back depending on your income and some other conditions.

These legislation have led to lesser bailouts. However since there are still people having problems paying back their debts and can no longer file for bankruptcy or get it they are going towards debt settlements. The reason debt settlements are surpassing bankruptcy is that they are becoming a better option that bankruptcy.
Getting a debt settlement means you will still have to pay back some part of your debt. In debt settlement what happens is that you negotiate with your creditor. You tell them that you will not be able to pay your dues. Since you filing for bankruptcy would be a complete loss for them they agree to cut it down to something more manageable for you because they want to minimize their losses. So they may agree to reduce your debt. Sometimes they may even reduce it up to 70%. It all depends on some factors such as your financial health, income and others.

The hit your credit score will get from a debt settlement will also be lower than what you would have gotten from a bankruptcy filing. And once you pay the amount due the bank will consider your account settled. For this growing need there are many companies who will help you get a debt settlement for a fee. These companies will use their expertise to get the best deal for you. There are also some good debt relief networks which keep a check on these companies and you should contact these networks if you are thinking about getting a settlement.

If you have over $10k in unsecured credit debt there is legitimate help out there. Instead of going right to a debt settlement company you might have heard on the radio or television, it would be wise to use a debt relief network. This way you can be assured that you find a legitimate company in your state. Check out the following link for a list of legitimate debt settlement services in your state:

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Bankruptcy Tips and Advice For Bear Stearns Employees

The collapse of the Investment Banking Firm, Bear Stearns will cause massive lay-offs. How many is not yet known, but it could well be into the neighborhood of 12,000 or more, currently it appears they have somewhere just over 14,000 employees, but of course, they will no longer be needed, and looks as if their 401Ks may be completely depleted. Many of the Bear Stearns employees, will be laid off or terminated and that means a huge hit to the dismal job figures for the next quarter in the US economy, however the real pain will be to those employees who lose their jobs and will most likely be forced into foreclosure and bankruptcy.

What tips can we give those laid off Bear Stearns Employees who will be forced into bankruptcy? Well, first they need to get the proper paper work secured by a competent New York Attorney, and perhaps they can get a group discount as so many will be in the very same boat. Some of these employees will be left in a similar situation as those who were left in the wake Enron, as those at the top continued to water ski, while they treaded water. A New York style bankruptcy for a high-paid Bear Stearns employee could run as high as $8,000 to $30,000 and they will most likely need the best possible lawyer to help them through this troubling time.

Since, 30% of Bear Stearns stock is owned by its employees, and since that stock is now worthless, some of these employees are literally wiped out completely and will have no choice but personal bankruptcy. It is therefore important that they take immediate stock of all their personal assets, tax paper work, property assessments at the time of the collapse and what is left if anything of their 401K or stock portfolios. That is the advice that Wall Street Lawyers are giving today in the New York Times and that sounds about right to me.

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