Financial hardship is something that effects many Americans that are attempting to start afresh with their Finances
Sometimes the only solution to their financial situation is to declare themselves bankrupt in order that they may once again have the prospect to start afresh.
There are other options available that one should carefully contemplate first before taking that severe step towards declaring oneself insolvent.
One solution is debt consolidation which briefly means that instead of having many debts to be paid out to various creditors you are able to use by means of a consolidation loan one account which could be used to pay them back.
The benefits of doing this generally results in one paying lower interest rates and having better control over your finances.
One must remember that you need to investigate whether or not you would qualify for a debt consolidation loan.
If the above does not work for you another possible means of avoiding bankruptcy is to get help from a experienced credit counselor.
These counselors are often able to organize with you that you pay them a specific amount monthly and that they in turn will make a payment to each of your creditors.
The amount you owe your creditors can sometimes be slashed by using a counselor instead of dealing with the creditors directly. The councilors also ensure timely payments to the creditors monthly.
They are also able to negotiate with creditors an extension of the time required to pay back the debt, which can be up to five years thus reducing your financial burden each month.
If you meet certain criteria a credit counselor can help you to avoid bankruptcy by setting up a financial plan
Declaring bankruptcy is the only choice from here if none of the above solutions work for you.
Being able to pay off some or all of the money outstanding to creditors over a period of time is known as Chapter 13 bankruptcy
Liquidating all assets to repay as much of the debt as you can is a much more serious bankruptcy and this is known as chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Filing for either of these will make it exceptionally difficult for a person to obtain credit again.
If you are considering filing for bankruptcy it is important to consult a bankruptcy lawyer first
The federal bankruptcy reform of 2005 makes it essential to obtain credit counseling from a non-profit credit counseling organization which has been registered with the federal bankruptcy reform of 2005 before a chapter 13 bankruptcy is discharged.