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Lansdale, PA Debt Consolidation Attorney

Debt is normal, but it can get out of hand quickly if you are not careful. If you are struggling to keep up with numerous debts, talk to our attorneys about debt consolidation as a potential solution.

People often need debt consolidation services when they have multiple debts that are hard to keep up with. Interest rates on all your debts might keep you down, and you might need to consolidate all your debts under one loan. Generally, it is easier to consolidate unsecured debts than secured debts. If your debts are attached to collateral, like a mortgage, you should speak to our team about how debt consolidation might work for you. When beginning the debt consolidation process, you might need to go through some credit counseling, and your attorney can help you talk to your creditors about the consolidation process. If debt consolidation is not a good fit for your financial situation, we can help you explore the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.

Get a free review of your case when you call (215) 701-6519 and speak to our debt consolidation lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates.

Why Someone Might Need a Debt Consolidation Attorney in Lansdale, PA

Dealing with debt is practically a universal experience. Most people in the United States today have some debt. Anyone who has purchased a home or car or taken out loans to start a business or go to school is probably paying back debts over an extended period. When your debts become too numerous and too large to handle, you should talk to an attorney about debt consolidation.

Debt consolidation aims to combine various debts into one single, larger debt. Our debt consolidation attorneys can help you look into taking out a debt reconsolidation loan and using it to pay off many other debts. Now, they are left with one debt: their loan repayment. Managing a single monthly payment for one large loan is often easier than managing multiple payments for various debts and creditors.

People often look into debt consolidation when they have multiple debts they cannot afford. Perhaps you have some credit cards that need to be paid off, but you recently got into a car accident and now have big hospital bills. On top of that, you might be paying off a mortgage and a car loan. It can be very easy to fall into this kind of deep debt. In many cases, people can keep up with all their debts and payments until they experience a sudden financial setback, like losing their jobs or becoming injured and unable to return to work.

Consolidating Secured and Unsecured Debts in Lansdale, PA

When consolidating debts, talk to your attorney about which of your debts are secured or unsecured. Generally, a secured debt or loan is connected to collateral. For example, when taking out a mortgage, your home is usually put up as collateral. An unsecured loan is not attached to any collateral. Consolidating these different debts can be tricky but is not impossible.

Secured Debts

As mentioned, secured debts usually have some property as collateral. You might put up your home, car, or other property as collateral to secure the loan you need. If you fail to repay the debt, your collateral may be forfeited to the creditor.

For example, mortgages are secured debt because your home is collateral. If you do not pay your mortgage, the creditor, usually a bank, may initiate legal action to foreclose on your home and take it from you. Car loans are also secured debts. Your creditor may repossess the car if you cannot pay the loan. Consolidating secured debts can be tricky because of the property connected to the debts.

Consolidating unsecured debts can be tricky because they are often quite large. Banks and creditors sometimes will not lend out large sums of money without some security. This might make obtaining a large enough debt consolidation loan difficult. Talk to your attorney about the size of your debts and how many you have.

Unsecured Debts

Unsecured debts have no property or nothing of value attached to them. If a person defaults on an unsecured loan, there is no property for creditors to seize, but they may sue you in court instead. Credit card debt, personal loans, and some student loans are often unsecured.

These loans may more easily be consolidated with a debt consolidation loan. People often have numerous unsecured loans for smaller sums of money. Obtaining a loan to cover them all is arguably easier.

Debt Settlement and Debt Consolidation in Lansdale, PA

In a debt settlement agreement, your attorney negotiates with creditors to try to reduce debts. The agreement may depend on how much you owe, how much you can pay right now, and whether the creditor believes they will ever get their money back from you. If a borrower owes a creditor $10,000 but can pay $5,000 right now, we might convince the creditor to accept $5,000 and forgive the rest, as they might be unlikely to get much more from the borrower.

Sometimes, debt settlements and consolidation are part of the same financial plans. We might try to settle some of your debts before helping you obtain a debt consolidation loan for the remaining balances. Talk to your attorney about this, as both methods might impact your overall credit.

What to Do if Debt Consolidation is Not Enough in Lansdale, PA

If debt consolidation is insufficient, or your debts are too great to consolidate under one consolidation plan, you might want to consider filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is often considered a punishment for people who make financial mistakes, but this is untrue. Bankruptcy may be a solution to your financial troubles.

People who file for bankruptcy enjoy an automatic stay immediately imposed by the court. The automatic stay halts any legal proceedings that might be pending against them and prevents further legal action from being taken against them until the bankruptcy proceedings are over. For some, this means a foreclosure is stopped in its tracks, and creditors are required to stop calling them for payment.

Depending on how you file for bankruptcy, you might liquidate various assets to pay off your debts or restructure your finances under an aggressive yet feasible payment plan to catch up on past-due payments. While bankruptcy may take a serious toll on your credit, it may also give you a fresh financial start.