Advice requested on debt settlement

$50K, not $50, as a lump sum amount, I mean

Hadama,

Your income is not as much a consideration as is the trends and policies each of your creditors have.
Timed and staged correctly, I see no reason you would not be able to settle the debts inside of 6 months.

What can effect their decision based on current trends is:
Account usage prior to delinquency
How long accounts have been open
What your credit report looks like at the time of settlement
Other revolving accounts kept current, but not paying them

There are nuances that can arise for particular circumstances, but given your financial preparedness with loan from family, you should be able to react to any unexpected event and meet your 50k goal.

The results may actually surprise you if your creditors are of the more friendly concession variety.

Best of success to you

Account usage: Very minimal. We've actually only been holding our head above water for a while as my job used to pay out about 30% more but the last three years have been bad for my business and I haven't seen any of that. We just haven't used the cards, except for one, almost at all.

Length accounts have been open: Varies from a handful of years up to almost 20

Credit report at time of settlement: Not known, of course. Going to look worse as time goes on, obviously. Have had absolutely perfect credit with the exception of the AMOUNT up until now.

Hi Hadama,

I would not expect any major surprises given the additional detail you posted.

There are curves and bumps that may occur along the way, but you should be able to navigate them.

You may feel as though yours is not a true hardship situation. Your attorney has suggested as much. Based on what little you have shared, I would disagree. Your wife is ill and unable to make a regular contribution to the family finances and you have experienced a 30% reduction in pay. You are indeed in a hardship.

I am glad you have found an alternative to chapter 13. It is sometimes hard to prepare people for what you already recognized, which is how difficult life would be for the 3 or 5 years in a 13 plan. Historically, roughly 70% of 13 filers do not complete the plan. Part of the reason for the low completion rate is the rigidity built into the process.

Best to you and your wife.
Cheers to your success getting out of debt this year.

So far we have settled 2 of 4 of our cards after we were unable to make payments after I lost my job. My husband has had his job throughout this time and that has not made a difference in our negotiations. He makes a little more than $100k. We settled Discover at 50% (53% of original balance) and Chase at 22% (23.6% of original balance). This was within the past week and we did it completely DIY so I would believe you can too. We did not disclose my husbands income during the process. They knew he had a job and that I had lost mine. We expect to settle our other 2 cards at about 30% or lower all before charge off. Hope that helps. Good luck.