Bankruptcy Advice

There are few situations that will cause as much as much devastation to your credit as claiming bankruptcy. If you unfortunately have to do so at some point, you are going to want to be aware of the many bankruptcy credit repair tips you can use to work towards gaining back a positive credit rating.

Tips to Bankruptcy Credit Repair

After having to claim bankruptcy, you may feel as though you will never regain a positive credit rating. Although it will be a challenge, it is definitely not an impossible task, which is important to keep in mind.

Any strike against you on your credit report (including the claiming of bankruptcy) remains on your credit record for a maximum of seven years. After this time, it is dropped from your record entirely. It IS possible, although you will likely have to wait for seven years, to make positive gains on your score after filing bankruptcy.

How to Get Started

First things first- you need to get a copy of your credit report. In order to get started, you need to be aware of how your credit stands presently. Most times you can obtain your report for free or for a very low charge.

Not only do you need to use your credit report to understand where you stand, but as well to check for errors. You are going to want to review your credit report and see if you can notice any erroneous listings or negative comments, and then work on getting these corrected. If you find an error, you need to contact the credit bureau directly and offer them proof that you do not actually owe the money that is listed on your credit report.

Paying off debt is a critical step towards bankruptcy credit repair, and even if you only owe a few dollars somewhere, if it is showing on your credit report then it is still negatively affecting your credit rating. You should always pay off your highest interest debts first, and remember that the lower the debt you owe the less negative your credit rating is going to be.

There are also many other steps that you can take towards bankruptcy credit repair, and if you are someone who finds that they have more debt than they can possibly ever imagine repaying, then you may need to file a formal proposal to your creditors, or consider beginning a debt management plan.

What are some things that you need to know about before cashing in your structured settlement annuity.

A honest structured settlement annuity payment purchaser must be found.

Buying structured settlement payments is difficult. Find someone who knows what they are doing. Find out how long they have been in business.

Go to your local Department of Consumer Affairs to see if there are any lawsuits being filed against the company or broker buying your settlement.

Talk at length with the company or broker, ask him / her questions and get a feel for how knowledgeable they are. Trust your gut feeling! Steer clear of those who promise much more money or can get it faster than others. If it sounds too good to be true, then it is.

Will I get my money in a week or two?

It’s going to take a minimum of 1 and a half months to 4 months. Anyone saying less time is not to be trusted.

1. You have to go to court in your state to have the judge approve you selling your payments. If you don’t get a court approval you pay a 40% tax. To get this approval can take up to 4 months.

2. The Insurance Company ? This includes both the issuer and the owner of the annuity. These things do not happen overnight. It takes time when dealing with companies.

3. Different funding companies have requirements that make it important for your company or broker to know which company buys what. It saves a lot of time and you get your money quicker.

4. Check your Insurance Companies Rating? Make sure the Insurance Company has an A rating! Ultimately you will get a higher profit margin when your settlement is sold to larger financial companies. If a company has a lower rating then they may have to sell off settlements at a lower profit margin resulting in a lower price to you.

5. Necessary documentation: Copy of the annuity, the settlement agreement and release, photo ID, recent payment check , any child support payments out standing and application for selling payments. A honest expert can help you gather these documents.

What will Cashing Out Cost Me? Most likely you are going to be some what disappointed in the amount you receive. Total up all the remaining payments and know that cashing out will offer you much less than that. They based the structured settlement on a certain amount of money put into an annuity and then that principal amount, plus interest paid out, equaled the settlement amount. Consider other options before selling your payments.

You have decided to sell your structured settlement and some questions to ask yourself. What about taxes? As of January 23, 2002 a new law says no tax liability for selling a structured settlement.

When selling your structured settlement, think about selling only a portion that will meet your current needs, and leave the rest in an annuity so that you will still receive some sort of monthly income. A financial emergency or other unexpected expense may come up requiring you to access and sell a structured settlement payment in the future.

Know that your settlement was meant to be used over time and selling it now can leave you with money problems down the road.