Here are a few ways to locate a competent lawyer to help you with a debt issue. Use the Find a Lawyer tool on Lawyers.com Ask your relatives, co-workers, and friends for a referral. You can also ask for a referral from a lawyer who has assisted you with another matter.
Finding the right lawyer for your case requires you to ask the right questions. Learn what you can ask before hiring an attorney to ensure you are choosing the right advocate for your case. When faced with a legal problem, many people don't know how to begin looking for a attorney.
No matter how experienced and well-recommended a lawyer is, if you feel uncomfortable with that person during your first meeting or two, you may never achieve an ideal lawyer-client relationship. Trust your instincts and seek a lawyer whose personality is compatible with your own.
There are many ways to find a reliable lawyer. One of the best is a recommendation from a trusted friend, relative, or business associate. Be aware, however, that each legal case is different and that a lawyer who is right for someone else may not suit you or your legal problem.
Trust your instincts and seek a lawyer whose personality is compatible with your own. Look also for experience, personal rapport, and accessibility. Ask all prospective lawyers how you will be able to contact them and how long it will take them to return your communications.
Some want 75%–80% of what you owe. Others will take 50%, while others might settle for one-third or less. Proposing a lump-sum settlement is generally the best option—and the one most collectors will readily agree to—if you can afford it.
Five Steps to Debt NegotiationStep 1: Stopping Creditor Phone Calls. ... Step 2: Validating the Debt. ... Step 3: Negotiating the Debt. ... Step 4: Settling the Debt. ... Step 5: If Sued, Utilize Defenses – Why You Want An Attorney.
Typically, a creditor will agree to accept 40% to 50% of the debt you owe, although it could be as much as 80%, depending on whether you're dealing with a debt collector or the original creditor. In either case, your first lump-sum offer should be well below the 40% to 50% range to provide some room for negotiation.
You might be able to prevent collection of a judgment by negotiating with the creditor or claiming property as exempt. If a creditor sues you and gets a judgment, it has a whole host of collection methods available to get its money from you, including wage attachments, property levies, assignment orders, and more.
Offer a specific dollar amount that is roughly 30% of your outstanding account balance. The lender will probably counter with a higher percentage or dollar amount. If anything above 50% is suggested, consider trying to settle with a different creditor or simply put the money in savings to help pay future monthly bills.
It is always better to pay off your debt in full if possible. While settling an account won't damage your credit as much as not paying at all, a status of "settled" on your credit report is still considered negative.
9 Things You Should (And Shouldn't) Say to a Debt CollectorDo — Ask to see the collector's credentials. ... Don't — Volunteer information. ... Do — Make a preemptive offer. ... Don't — Make your bank account accessible. ... Maybe — Ask for a payment-for-deletion deal. ... Do — Explain your predicament. ... Don't — Provide ammunition.More items...
If your misstep happened because of unfortunate circumstances like a personal emergency or a technical error, try writing a goodwill letter to ask the creditor to consider removing it. The creditor or collection agency may ask the credit bureaus to remove the negative mark.
Speak to the Original Creditor Inform the original creditor that you want to find a way to settle the debt, and ask if they're willing to negotiate. The creditor may choose to accept your initial offer, negotiate a new amount, or refuse outright and refer you back to the collection agency.
Most credit card debt is "unsecured," meaning it is not backed by property such as a home or car. But after a judgement ruling, the creditor can take steps to seize part of your salary, freeze your bank account, or even haul away your belongings.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, debts can appear on your credit report generally for seven years and in a few cases, longer than that. Under state laws, if you are sued about a debt, and the debt is too old, you may have a defense to the lawsuit.
It's possible in some cases to negotiate with a lender to repay a debt after it's already been sent to collections. Working with the original creditor, rather than dealing with debt collectors, can be beneficial.
After you fall behind in payments for an unsecured debt—like credit card, department store, or medical debt—the creditor might send the debt to a collection agency. Creditors hire these third-party companies to go after you for the money you owe. (Learn more about what to expect if your debt goes to collection .)
Here are a few ways to locate a competent lawyer to help you with a debt issue.
After you obtain several names of recommended debt lawyers, set up a consultation with each one. Sometimes you’ll be able to speak with the attorney over the telephone, while other times you’ll need to visit the attorney’s office and have a face-to-face meeting.
The fees that a debt relief attorney will charge you largely depends on what type of service you need. For example, to negotiate with your creditors or provide some other form of debt relief services, a lawyer might charge:
Ask around among your family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances to see if they know of any attorneys they could recommend. Personal references can be some of the most reliable references you will find.
You can run an attorney search at databases such as Avvo and Martindale Hubbell, which provide information such as practice areas, location, disciplinary records, and lawyer reviews.
Now that you have some attorney options, it’s time to choose. To get you started, here’s a list of questions to ask an attorney before hiring them:
One way to get a feel for an attorney’s practice is to be observant when you go for your first consultation.
Here are a few other sources you can turn to for possible candidates in your search for a lawyer: 1 The director of your state or local chamber of commerce may be a good source of business lawyers. 2 The director of a nonprofit group interested in the subject matter that underlies your lawsuit is sure to know lawyers who work in that area. For example, if your dispute involves trying to stop a major new subdivision, it would make sense to consult an environmental group committed to fighting urban sprawl. 3 A law librarian can help identify authors in your state who have written books or articles on a particular subject -- for example, construction law. 4 A women's or men's support group will probably have a list of well-regarded family and divorce lawyers.
The director of your state or local chamber of commerce may be a good source of business lawyers. The director of a nonprofit group interested in the subject matter that underlies your lawsuit is sure to know lawyers who work in that area.
Nolo offers a unique lawyer directory that provides a comprehensive profile for each attorney with information that will help you select the right attorney. The profiles tell you about the lawyer's experience, education, and fees, and perhaps most importantly, the lawyer's general philosophy of practicing law.
Lawyer referral services are another source of information. There is a wide variation in the quality of lawyer referral services, however, even though they are required to be approved by the state bar association. Some lawyer referral services carefully screen attorneys and list only those attorneys with particular qualifications and a certain amount of past experience, while other services will list any attorney in good standing with the state bar who maintains liability insurance. Before you choose a lawyer referral service, ask what its qualifications are for including an attorney and how carefully lawyers are screened.
Lawyers, of course, are prime sources of this information, but if you bought all the needed information at their rates -- $150 to $450 an hour -- you'd quickly empty your bank account.
A law librarian can help identify authors in your state who have written books or articles on a particular subject -- for example, construction law. A women's or men's support group will probably have a list of well-regarded family and divorce lawyers.
Unfortunately, the complaint logs of all lawyer regulator y groups indicate that many lawyers are terrible communicators. If every time you have a problem there's a delay of several days before you can talk to your lawyer on the phone or get an appointment, you'll lose precious time, not to mention sleep.
FindLaw's Lawyer Directory is one of several online legal directories that offer attorney listings across the U.S. As the premiere attorney search locator, FindLaw allows you to conveniently search for a lawyer by legal issue, location (i.e. state, county, city, and metro) and name. Moreover, FindLaw's directory is multidimensional to help you pinpoint relevant local attorneys, and also includes features that consumers care about, like descriptions of law firm practice area and easy links to attorney websites.
Lawyer referral services can help direct you to lawyers in your area based on certain criteria, mainly practice area or special services, such as immigration, domestic violence or legal aid. Since lawyer referral services are similar to phone book listings, however, you may not receive information regarding the lawyer's experience or qualification levels. As such, you may wish to cross-check attorney names through the State bar or some other lawyer referral service that provides a better perspective of a lawyer's background.
The lawyer will be helping you solve your problems, so the first qualification is that you must feel comfortable enough to tell him or her, honestly and completely, all the facts necessary to resolve your problem.
Yes, the lawyer’s area of expertise and prior experience are important. Many states have specialization programs that certify lawyers as specialists in certain types of law.
There are many ways to find a reliable lawyer. One of the best is a recommendation from a trusted friend, relative, or business associate. Be aware, however, that each legal case is different and that a lawyer who is right for someone else may not suit you or your legal problem.
In some ways, yes, ads are useful. However, always be careful about believing everything you read and hear — and nowhere is this truer than with advertisements. Newspaper, telephone directory, radio, television, and Internet ads, along with direct mail, can make you familiar with the names of lawyers who may be appropriate for your legal needs.
Most communities have referral services to help people find lawyers. You might be able to find them under “Lawyer Referral Service” or something similar in your yellow pages. These services usually recommend a lawyer in the area to evaluate a situation.
Legal services, like many other things, are often less expensive when bought in bulk. Some employers, labor and credit unions, and other groups have formed “legal insurance” plans. These plans vary. Many cover most, if not all, of the cost of legal consultations, document preparation, and court representation in routine legal matters.
Several legal assistance programs offer inexpensive or free legal services to those in need. Look in the yellow pages under topics such as “legal clinics,” “legal aid,” or “legal advice,” or search online. Most legal aid programs have special guidelines for eligibility, often based on where you live, the size of your family, and your income.