Learn about bankruptcy alternatives during your free consultation in our offices in Los Angeles or Encino. We make it more convenient than ever to plan your financial fresh start!

Which bankruptcy alternative is best for you will depend greatly on your specific situation.

Sometimes what seems like a good bankruptcy alternative only delays the inevitable, causing additional stress and suffering you could have avoided altogether.

That's why we offer a free consultation, to help you understand all of your options, including bankruptcy alternatives that may work well for you. Some of the options we may discuss include:

Credit Counseling Services

When high interest rates and penalties are making it difficult for you to pay off your debts, a consumer credit counseling service may be helpful. In addition to helping you develop and stick to a realistic budget, they can often negotiate with your creditors for more favorable terms (interest rates and waved penalties).

Sometimes credit card companies are more likely to respond to such requests when made by a consumer credit organization — it tells them you are serious, are seeking help, and are getting advice on how to meet your obligations. However, there is no guarantee a credit card company will agree to this, and they are not obligated to do so.

Be cautious and learn what fees the credit counseling services charges, and also who is responsible if you make payments to them but they do not remit your payments on time or they underpay a creditor, resulting in fees or penalties that you will owe.

Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation may help if you can obtain a lower interest loan to pay off all of your higher interest debt. However if you already have a lot of debt, this usually requires borrowing against an asset (such as a home or land) that you pledge as collateral.

You are essentially converting your unsecured debts (credit cards for example) to secured debt (perhaps a second mortgage). While the interest may be lower, the risk of losing your property increases should you be unable to make timely payments. If there's any chance that you may eventually end up filing for bankruptcy, be sure to discuss this with one of our Los Angeles Bankruptcy Attorneys before proceeding.

Debt Negotiation and Settlement

Debt negotiation involves making an offer to immediately pay off a debt with a reduced lump sum (for example, 50% of the total amount owed) rather than making continued payments over time. This can work if you have money available to pay the lump sum, especially if the creditor understands that your only other alternative is to file for bankruptcy, in which case they may receive far less.

This works best when you are dealing with only a few larger debts rather than multiple creditors, especially if the debts are old and being paid off slowly. However, using a "debt negotiator" can limit the benefit of this approach, since they often expect a hefty fee in return for negotiating such a settlement.

Foreclosure Litigation

Don't assume that falling behind on your mortgage is necessarily your own fault!

When lenders are too eager to make loans, they often willfully or unknowingly violate either the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The result can be a loan that the borrower cannot ultimately afford, and eventually results in foreclosure proceedings.

By reviewing your loan papers, the Nader Law Firm can determine if foreclosure violations occurred, and provide recommendations on filing a lawsuit on your behalf.

Foreclosure litigation may help to:

• Keep you in your house.
• Stop all foreclosure proceedings while the suit is pending.
• Prevent the lender from reporting negative information to credit reporting agencies.
• Result in damages being paid to you.

Most often foreclosure lawsuits do not go to trial, since foreclosure litigation makes the lender eager to renegotiate your loan when they realize how much is at stake.

If you have been served notice of foreclosure proceedings, contact our bankruptcy attorney immediately for a free consultation to explore options that may save your home.

What’s right for you?

Discover if there are bankruptcy alternatives that best fit your situation. Contact our bankruptcy attorney today for a no-obligation consultation.