Dear Liz: I am an 82-year-old widow with a disabled daughter in a desperate financial situation. Payments on my credit cards and a personal loan eat up half the income I get from Social Security, my late husband’s pension and my IRA. My total debt is over $100,000 and my only assets are a car worth $35,000 and the fast-dwindling IRA with just $25,000. I need advice on how best to proceed: bankruptcy or loan consolidation or something else?
Answer: Please make an appointment with a bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible.
There are other solutions for debt, including a debt management plan through a credit counselor, debt settlement or a consolidation loan. Debt management allows people to pay off what they owe over time, often at a lower interest rate. Debt settlement involves negotiating with creditors to accept less than what they’re owed. A consolidation loan replaces multiple debts with a single loan, often at a fixed interest rate.
Your situation is simply too dire for these other methods to make much sense, however. Bankruptcy could allow you to legally erase the debt and preserve what’s left of your limited funds.
Today’s top story: Starter credit cards are still a thing but are harder to get. Also in the news: A new episode of the SmartMoney podcast on debt and refinancing, debt management as an alternative to credit card relief, and should you let your insurance company track your driving?