Stuck with debt, no support, and bad credit

by Lisa
(Florida)

Hi Gerri, I have a very difficult situation my ex did a balance transfer from his accounts to my accounts and then he abandoned the home leaving me a single mother of 4 children and left me with all his debt in my name and now my credit has been ruined because he never paid it back and neither did I it has been in collection for about 5 yrs now and the balances are just growing. Now I owe about $30,000.00 and my credit score is in the 570's. what do you recommend I do??? Please help.

Comments for Stuck with debt, no support, and bad credit

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Jan 26, 2010
 debt help
by: Gerri

Lisa,

It must be an incredibly hard time for you. I am guessing that you are probably handling most everything on your own. It's time to ask for help. You have enough on your plate raising four children on your own, and you don't need to deal with the stress of all these unpaid debts (and what can happen if you don't pay them) without some professional advice.

At this point you likely have two options:

1. Negotiate with the collectors to pay what you can afford. I don't know what your budget is, and how much you have available to pay creditors, but if you can come up with some cash to settle the debts then you could probably put these debts behind you. I've seen settlements as low as 10% of the balance, but realistically most people are looking at anywhere from 25 - 50% of the balance. That's somewhere in the range of $7500 - $15000 that you would have to come up with to settle. If you think debt negotiation might be an option, I would encourage you to listen to the debt settlement podcast Mary recorded with an expert in that field.

2. More likely, you are going to need to make an appointment with a bankruptcy attorney. Bankruptcy may allow you to put those debts behind you and get a fresh start. I realize that it may not be what you want to do, but if it allows you to start over again and build a better life for your children, it may be something you need to consider. Please make an appointment to talk with a Florida bankruptcy attorney to find out your options. The consultation will be confidential and free.

Let me know what happens OK?

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