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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Do I need To Get a Lawyer If I am Having Trouble Paying My Debts?


You do not need a lawyer if you are experiencing credit or debt problems. You can negotiate debt re-payment with credit card companies or creditors yourself without any help from an attorney. You can work making changes to your credit report on your own. Especially now a days you are probably seeing TV commercials, hearing radio ads, and even magazine and newspaper ads every where you turn with attorneys who are offering you help reducing your debt and helping you avoid bankruptcy. Most of what they offer you can do yourself by following the suggestions in this blog.

I had a friend who I had helped clear up her credit report and she had consulted a credit counseling agency after we had cleaned up her report pretty good just to see if it could be cleaned up any further. The credit counseling company just about offered her a job after seeing how well she had done on her own. They admitted she had done everything they would have done for her. So repairing your credit can be done on your own. It may be time consuming, but it is worth the work to get your credit report cleaned up. There are times when an attorney can be helpful to you though. If you have been dealing with credit reporting agencies about entries that are incorrectly being reported on your credit report and you have sent letters and made phone calls for several months with little progress, it could be a good idea to see an attorney. As I said it can be time consuming, but if you have been diligently working on getting your credit report cleared up and are getting no where an attorney may be your next step. This does not mean that you should be paying a fat retainer and getting billed by the hour. Start by finding an attorney who will write a simple letter on your behalf to the credit reporting agency. Usually letterhead from an attorney will get much more attention from creditors than another letter from you and just might get you to where you need to go. If other services are needed from the attorney see if you can negotiate pricing upfront.

I have friends who had charge offs and all of a sudden years later get a knock at the door to be handed a court summons regarding their unpaid debt. If you get served with court papers, you may want to consult an attorney to at the very least review them and help understand them. If you are being sued for nonpayment of a debt and have no defense, you will probably be throwing away good money after bad to hire an attorney to defend you in the case. If you find you are unable or don't know how to reach a settlement with the creditors attorney yourself, you can hire a lawyer for the specific purpose of working out a settlement.

If you are really considering filing for bankruptcy, you should contact an attorney for a free consultation. Ask an attorney you have dealt with in the past for a referral or contact your state, county, or city bar association for a referral to an attorney in your area who specializes in bankruptcy law.

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