You can lower your total debt payments, like credit card and medical debts, by consolidating your debts with a chapter 13 bankruptcy. There are many debt consolidation companies, and a lot of them will rip you off. However, you can use chapter 13 bankruptcy as a debt consolidation without the fear of being ripped off by a dishonest company. As an added bonus, you can probably reduce the amount you owe on debts like credit cards and medical bills by a substantial amount without having to bargain with your creditors, though this is different in each case. On top of that, any creditors who don’t file claims on time don’t get paid, and all debts that you listed in the bankruptcy are discharged at the end of your bankruptcy case, regardless of whether or how much the creditors got paid.
If your debt problems are only general unsecured debts like credit card and medical bills, you could eliminate those debts with a chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, chapter 7 has income limits, and you would lose any assets that you can’t protect (“exempt”) in chapter 7. If you make too much money for chapter 7 bankruptcy or can’t protect all of your assets, then chapter 13 bankruptcy would work as a debt consolidation without you having to worry about getting ripped off or losing any of your assets.
In a chapter 13 bankruptcy you will have up to five years to pay off your debts, and you may be able to substantially lower the amount that you owe. You would make one monthly payment to the chapter 13 trustee, who will pay your creditors the percentage to which they are entitled under bankruptcy law. When you are finished paying after five years, all of your dischargeable debts like credit card and medical debts will be eliminated.
If you are considering a debt consolidation, contact a chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney today. You will get the benefits of debt consolidation without the worries about being ripped off.