I've been following the sad tale of Debt Relief USA, a debt settlement company here in Dallas. Their big pitch was that you should not file bankruptcy.
But, that's exactly what they did.
Seems they took in $4.5 million of people's money and were supposed to use it to "settle" their debts. Instead, they used it for ...
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I was meeting today with a new potential client who came in for a free consultation after seeing my bankruptcy website. He'd receive a pitch from one of the 70-thousand "debt settlement" companies out there. This company had clearly put some thought into their strategy.
They take $5,000 up front as their "fee." Then, you pay ...
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There are three main costs in filing bankruptcy:
the attorney fees;
the court costs; and
the credit counseling classes.
If you handle the whole case yourself, you can save the attorney fees. The bankruptcy court calls this a "pro se" filing. In the Dallas area, bankruptcy attorney fees range from around $1700 on the low end to around $3,200 ...
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Even though it is legally permissible for individual debtors to represent themselves before the court in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Dallas area residents generally choose to retain the services ...
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Dealing with creditors on your own
First, you must realistically determine how much TOTAL you can afford to pay per month toward your debt. To figure this, you must make a budget of what living expenses you incur so that you can figure what, if anything, is left over to apply to the debt.
Once you've ...
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