After you’ve gone through the divorce process, it can be hard to pay the bills on your single paycheck. This is doubly true when you are carrying around debts from the marriage, including credit card debt ”“ even for things you did not buy yourself.
Getting Back to a Manageable Level of Credit Card Debt
- If you received the marital home as part of your divorce settlement, you might consider taking out a home-equity loan to help manage your credit card bills. The positive side of this is that the interest on home-equity loans is often less than the interest on a credit card; on the other hand, if you find yourself in trouble and can’t make the loan payments, there is a risk of losing your home.
- If you have less than $10,000 in unsecured debt, using a consumer credit counseling service can be beneficial. These people are experts at fixing credit card debt situations and are often more reasonable than the card companies themselves. The downside is that this can take a little longer to clear up your debts and you may find that your credit score lowers. Still, the credit score impact is much less serious than late or delinquent payment credit hits.
- If you have over $10,000 in unsecured debt, you could try your luck with a debt settlement company. What these companies do is try to negotiate with creditors to lower the amount of debt owed. These plans usually help clear your debt in two to four years, but you will also be charged a percentage of the debt as payment for the service and you will need to pay taxes on the difference between the original debt and the settlement.
Get in Touch with a Divorce Attorney in Denver
As you can see, there are plenty of options for this complicated situation. If you have any questions, speak to a divorce attorney.