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Debt relief process - How can we help you get out of debt?

The bottom line of the credit card debt relief process is to help you combat your inability to pay off debts. You should be able to waive off late fees, penalties, and extra charges when you opt for a credit card relief program.

There are many people who can get credit card debt relief themselves. But there are many who need professional help to get credit card debt relief. OVLG is here to help them reach an agreement with their creditors and attain financial freedom.

Debt relief process

A debt relief program helps you pay less than what you owe on your credit card debt, utility bills, payday loans, personal loans, cell phone bills, private student loans, etc. This is what most companies claiming to give you credit card debt relief promise will happen.

But the actual questions should be: (a) how much do I have to pay for getting credit card relief? (b) how much less? (c) how long would it take to get credit card relief (d) what about the process?

Shady debt relief companies will give you a vague answer. They wouldn't give you a proper answer since they're only interested in making profits. But OVLG is a law firm and their principle is to provide best services to clients.

We are ready to answer all your questions.

You can use our pay off debt calculator to know how much you have to pay for getting credit card relief.

The calculator will give you an idea of (a) how much you can save by negotiating with creditors yourself (b) how much you can save with professional help (c) how long it would take to get credit card relief

Yes, you have to pay a price for getting debt relief services from OVLG. Check out our fee structure to know how much you have to pay for our services. If you want to know the credit card debt relief process in details, then have a look below.

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Step-by-step analysis of the debt relief process

Typically, there are 4 debt relief programs to help you pay back creditors. These are debt management, debt settlement, chapter 13 bankruptcy, and chapter 7 bankruptcy. Here is a step-by-step analysis of the debt relief process for all of you.

Step 1: A Financial Coach will contact you over the phone. He/she will review your financial situation and suggest the right debt solution method for you from the following.

  1. Bill consolidation and budgeting
  2. Interest rate negotiation also known as Debt management
  3. Interest + Principal negotiation also known as Debt settlement
  4. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
  5. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Step 2: Once you approve, he/she will start negotiating with your creditors to reduce your outstanding debt amounts or lower interest rates and waive off any late fees or penalty charges.

Step 3: The financial coach will also help you with budgeting tips and guide you in improving your credit score.

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Interest rate negotiation also known as Debt Management program:

  1. As soon as the monthly consultation fee is received, OVLG will start negotiating with the creditors to get a lower interest rate on the unsecured lines of credit.
  2. You send OVLG fixed payments each month.
  3. OVLG sends the money to the creditor each month.
  4. Some time during the program if you realize that you can not make the payments you can transfer over to the debt settlement program.
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Interest + Principal negotiation also known as Debt settlement program:

  1. As soon as the small retainer is received OVLG sends the POA to the creditors/collection agencies within 2 days of the retainer payment to either validate the debt if you are disputing the validity of the debt. Or start working with a settlement with them.
  2. We will try to enforce the provisions of the FDCPA law and stop the threatening phone calls. If the law is getting violated we will file a law suite.
  3. You send OVLG fixed payments each month.
  4. OVLG saves the money in a trust account.
  5. OVLG offers a stick to the creditor of bankruptcy and the carrot of the money in the trust account.
  6. Creditors are settled one at a time.
  7. Some time during the program if you realize that you can not make the payments you can transfer over to the debt bankruptcy program.
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Chapter 13 'Bankruptcy:

Your Case is Filed!

  • Your case is formally commenced when you file your bankruptcy petition with the appropriate bankruptcy court. As soon as you file your petition, the court will enter an Automatic Stay order prohibiting most of your creditors from taking or continuing any collection or legal action against you. This stops many of the harassing letters and phone calls while your case is in progress.
  • Next, the court will send a notice of your case to all of the creditors listed in your petition.
  • Additionally, the bankruptcy court will assign a bankruptcy trustee to oversee your case. The trustee is a federal employee appointed by the court to monitor your case and make sure you are eligible for bankruptcy. The trustee will review your petition, make sure that it is complete, and then schedule a meeting of your creditors.
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15 Days After Your Case is Filed

  • You have a deadline of 15 days after you file your petition to file certain financial "schedules" with the court-documents stating your assets, liabilities, expenses, income, and a statement of your affairs. In most case, however, your attorney will file these schedules with your petition.
  • This 15-day deadline also applies to the filing of your repayment plan.
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Approximately 15 Days After Your Case is Filed

  • Within approximately 15 days after you file your case, the court will mail the Notice of Commencement of Case to you and to all of the creditors listed in your petition. This notice will inform you of the date set by the court for the meeting of your creditors, and the deadlines for your creditors to object to your case and file their claims against you.
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Approximately 30 Days After Your Chapter 13 Repayment Plan is Filed

  • You must make your first payment under your repayment plan within 30 days after the date that your plan was filed, otherwise your case can be dismissed.
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Approximately 6 Weeks (45 days) After Your Case is Filed

  • The court will hold the Meeting of Your Creditors about six weeks after your bankruptcy case is filed.
  • The court-appointed trustee will preside over this meeting. At the meeting, which you are required to attend, you will be asked to testify under oath as to the accuracy of the statements in your petition. However, most of your creditors will not appear at the meeting, and you will not be before a judge. The meeting is very informal, and in most cases will last no more than 10 minutes. If you do not attend the meeting, your case will be dismissed.
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30 Days After the Meeting of Your Creditors

  • The bankruptcy trustee and your creditors have to object to all of your exemption claims within 30 days after the conclusion of the meeting of your creditors.
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45 Days After the Meeting of Your Creditors

  • The court will have a confirmation hearing during which the bankruptcy trustee will recommend to the judge whether or not your repayment plan should be approved by the court. Your creditors do have the right to object to confirmation of your case, but your attorney will likely have resolved any objections to confirmation before this date.
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90 Days After the Meeting of Your Creditors

  • All of your creditors (except for government entities) must file their proofs of claim (these are documents your creditors submit to the court specifying how much you owe them) within 90 days after the first date set for your creditor meeting if they wish to share in the payments from your case.
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180 Days After Your Case is Filed

  • Government entities that have claims against you (such as the IRS) have 180 days after the filing of your case to submit their proofs of claim.
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3 Years From the Date of Your First Repayment

  • Government entities that have claims against you (such as the IRS) have 180 days after the filing of your case to submit their proofs of claim.
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3-5 Years From the Date of Your First Repayment

  • Upon your final payment under your Chapter 13 repayment plan, you will receive your formal discharge notice from the court.
  • Before you receive your discharge, however, you must complete an approved financial management course.
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5 Years From the Date of Your First Repayment

  • Unless you have already completed your payments under your Chapter 13 repayment plan, your payments under your Chapter 13 plan must be complete within 5 years of the date of your first payment.
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Chapter 7 'Bankruptcy:

Your Case is Filed!

  • Your case is formally commenced when you file your bankruptcy petition with the appropriate bankruptcy court. As soon as you file your petition, the court will enter an Automatic Stay order prohibiting your creditors from taking or continuing any collection or legal action against you. This means no more harassing letters or phone calls while your case is in progress.
  • Next, the court will send a notice of your case to all of the creditors listed in your petition.
  • Additionally, the bankruptcy court will assign a bankruptcy trustee to oversee your case. The trustee is a federal employee appointed by the court to monitor your case and make sure you are eligible for bankruptcy. The trustee will review your petition, make sure that it is complete, and then schedule a meeting of your creditors.
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15 Days After Your Case is Filed

  • You have a deadline of 15 days after you file your petition to file certain financial "schedules" with the court-documents declaring your assets, liabilities, expenses, income, and a statement of your affairs. In most case, however, your attorney will file these schedules with your petition.
  • Approximately 15 Days After Your Case is Filed

Within approximately 15 days after you file your case, the court will mail the Notice of Commencement of Case to you and to all of the creditors listed in your petition. This notice will inform you of the date set by the court for the meeting of your creditors, and the deadlines for your creditors to object to your case and file their claims against you.

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Approximately 30 Days After Your Case is Filed

  • Within 30 days after you file your case, or before the meeting of your creditors if that occurs first, you are required to file a Statement of Intention. In this document, you advise the court whether you intend to keep your property that serves as collateral for your debts, or whether you intend to surrender it to your creditors.
  • If you intend to keep the property, you must indicate your intention to: (1) reaffirm your debts and continue making all of your payments on those debts; or (2) redeem the property by paying the fair market value for it, in which case you will receive a discharge of debt owed over the fair market value of the item.
  • You must serve a copy of your Statement of Intention on the bankruptcy trustee and your creditors at the time you file it with the court.
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45 days After Your Statement of Intention is Filed

  • You have 45 days after your Statement of Intention is filed to surrender or keep your property as you indicated in your Statement and make all necessary payments.
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Approximately 6 Weeks After Your Case is Filed

  • The court will hold the Meeting of Your Creditors about six weeks after your bankruptcy case is filed. At least seven days before this meeting, you are required to provide to the trustee and any creditor requesting it a copy of your most recently filed tax return.
  • The court-appointed trustee will preside over this meeting. At the meeting, which you are required to attend, you will be asked to testify under oath as to the accuracy of the statements in your petition. However, most of your creditors will not appear at the meeting, and you will not be before a judge. The meeting is very informal, and in most cases will last no more than 10 minutes. If you do not attend the meeting, your case will be dismissed.
  • Within 45 days after you file your petition, you must file a statement containing a certificate from your attorney that you received an explanation of the various chapters available to you under the bankruptcy code, evidence of any payments you’ve received from any employer within 60 days of your filing, an itemized statement of your monthly income, and an estimate of any increase income or expenditures you expect over the next 12 months.
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30 Days After The Meeting of Your Creditors

  • The bankruptcy trustee and your creditors have to object to all of your exemption claims within 30 days after the conclusion of the meeting of your creditors.
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60 Days After The Meeting of Your Creditors

  • Your creditors have 60 days after the date first set for the Meeting of Your Creditors to object to the discharge of any of the debts listed in your petition and schedules.
  • Your creditors can object to your request to discharge a debt if the debt was obtained or incurred as a result of any of the following types of misconduct: fraud; embezzlement or larceny; and any willful or malicious injuries you have caused others; or a divorce or separation (this does not include debts for child support and spousal maintenance, which are non-dischargeable by law).
  • Additionally, your creditors can object to the discharge of all your debts if you have engaged in any of the following conduct: concealment or destruction of property or financial records; false statements; withholding information; failing to explain losses; failure to respond to material questions; or a discharge in a prior case filed within the last 6 years.
  • The trustee must move to dismiss your case within this time period if he finds that the granting of relief would be an abuse of the provisions of Chapter 7. You will receive your Chapter 7 discharge 60 days after the meeting of your creditors You will receive your discharge as soon as the 60-day time period for objecting to discharge or moving to dismiss your case expires. Even if you receive your discharge, the trustee may, however, move to set it aside if you do not turn over nonexempt property or if you commit other bankruptcy violations.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 imposes one last hurdle before you’re eligible for your discharge--the financial education requirement. This requires you to complete an instructional course concerning personal financial management. Your attorney can refer you to an approved financial management class.

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90 Days After The Meeting of Your Creditors

  • All of your creditors (except for government entities) must file their proofs of claim (these are documents your creditors submit to the court specifying how much you owe them) within 90 days after the first date set for your creditor meeting if they wish to share in the payments from your case if any assets are available for liquidation.
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3 Years From the Date of Your First Repayment

  • Government entities that have claims against you (such as the IRS) have 180 days after the filing of your case to submit their proofs of claim.
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How to know which debt relief process is the best for you

Even after understanding the debt relief process of debt settlement, debt management, and bankruptcy, your mind often remains confused regarding the best option for yourself. The confusion is logical and natural since you don’t want to take any more risk financially. You’re already in a soup. Now, you want the best solution to your debt problem.

Don’t worry! You can find out the best debt relief program for yourself within a few clicks. Just answer a few questions here, and you’ll know which program can help you taste victory quickly.

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