Cutler & Associates, LTD

Alternatives to Bankruptcy

Debt settlement is exactly what it sounds like.  Our firm is hired to act as a go between for you and your creditors.   You are our client and we owe a duty to you to act in your best interest only.   We do this work on a per creditor flat fee basis and not on a contingency.   There are many companies that will do this sort of work on a contingency, however, they demand a hefty fee and it must be all paid up front.   But we have found that our fees are typically substantially less than these companies.  You will find that they will also demand that you deposit all the money needed for settlement with them, prior to them doing work.  This is better known as credit consolidation.

While we also demand payment up front of our fee, we do not expect any further fees or monies from you.   Our experience is that lump sum settlements give you the best reductions, but we understand that many people cannot wait and must act now.   Our goal is to tailor our services to your needs.

What you must understand is that you DON’T NEED US OR ANY OTHER COMPANY TO DO DEBT SETTLEMENTS.  Frankly we believe that it is a waste of your money to pay our firm or any other company to make phone calls for you to settle your debts.  However, if you are the type of person who does not like to negotiate or conflict then we suggest you call us to help.  Once again we are attorneys who have a professional responsibility to you as a client.  Most credit consolidation companies cannot claim this as they are only corporations.   Feel free to read some testimonials of clients who we helped in the past.

Before heading down this path there are a couple things you should know.

1)    If you settle a debt, the IRS considers the amount you save in the settlement as income and you will received a 1099 from the creditor company at the end of the year.  For example say you have a $1,000 credit card with Chase and you settle it for $500.  The $500 you save is taxable income and you will receive a 1099 that must be reported on your taxes;

2)    Debt settlements will impact your credit.  The company your settle with will report the account settled with the credit reporting agencies and this will impact your credit for approximately two to three years.  However, if you review our Credit Score page you can see what you can do to impact your credit score.

In closing, debt settlement can be a good option for some people.   However, before you liquidate a 401K or another asset to settle debts I strongly encourage you to contact our office for a FREE CONSULTATION to discuss your options.