http://www.doctordebt.net/debt/debt-elimination/legal-debt-elimination/ Legal debt elimination can happen on your own or with help from professionals. en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 When it comes to being in debt, you want to stick to legal debt elimination programs for obvious reasons. But how do you know what's what? We'll help you sort it out. Determining What's Legal and What's Not It's actually easier than you think. When you're looking for a legal debt elimination program or company, you want to avoid any that make outrageous claims. For instance: You'll want to avoid any companies that promise to "repair" your credit. Repairing your credit takes hard work and time, and you're the only one who can initiate the steps it takes to earn a clear credit record. Avoid any companies that advise you to get a new taxpayer identification number and/or a new identity to fix your credit problems. This isn't fixing anything. It's ruining your good name and avoiding your problems. At the end of the day, you may only have your good name to rely on. Don't mess it up. Make sure any debt elimination program you're considering has a physical street address. If they don't, it's a big red flag that you might not be dealing with a legal debt elimination company. Recently Congress passed a law requiring anyone who's filing for bankruptcy to go through a debt elimination program first. In fact, the Department of Justice has a list of legal debt elimination companies on their website. Another way to find legal debt elimination companies is by starting with Christian debt elimination services. You can be pretty confident that these are legal debt elimination services, and since most of them are non-profit, they're affordable. No matter what kind of debt elimination program you are considering, why not comparison shop? Fill out online forms provided at many of their websites. See if the companies you're dealing with are nationally certified and accredited. Compare the recommendations they send back to you, and call them. See if they seem willing to help. Ask good questions and expect logical answers. Be armed with the knowledge going in that there are five different kinds of debt management programs--debt consolidation, debt consolidation loans, debt consolidation mortgages, debt settlement and student loan debt consolidation. Most of these programs will take you five years or so to complete (except debt settlement--that's usually less, but not good for your credit). Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, move on. There are plenty of good legal debt elimination companies out there ready and waiting to help you. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT