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Debt arises from a variety of sources: credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, Business contracts, etc. We sometimes purchase items that a Creditor can repossess after a default in payments, like cars, equipment,  and even houses. These are called secured transactions. Other times, we purchase goods or services with unsecured debt,  like credit cards, gym memberships, or pay day loans.

Each of these situations might call for a slightly different solution, but all of them can result in a lawsuit. While there are some potential defenses to debt claims (like the passing of a statute of limitations, failure to offset, invalidity of a debt, etc.), when a debt is actually due and owing, extending the fight to trial can cause that debt to grow at such a rate that settlement becomes impossible.

There are certain claims or disputes that, while sad or sympathetic, are not valid legal defenses to a breach of contract lawsuit. Pursuing an invalid claim in a contract dispute is not only unethical, it is a waste of a Client’s time and money. This is sometimes a difficult pill to swallow, but it is an important component in debt settlement.
Debt cases often require cooperation with the Plaintiff to exchange legally relevant information. Once we determine that a debt is validly owed to a plaintiff, we can begin discussing paths to resolution.

When we advise Defendants who come to us because they are being sued for a personal or Business debt, we offer three basic solutions:

1. We fight the case when the debt is invalid or if the Defendant has a valid counterclaim against the Plaintiff which significantly reduces the debt;
2. We verify that the debt is owed by reviewing the Plaintiff’s data and suggest a path toward settlement; or
3. We refer the case to a Bankruptcy attorney if the Defendant has a verified debt with no reasonable means of reaching settlement.

After 10 years of representing clients in lawsuits involving personal and Business debts, I have found that all cases fall into one of the three categories described above. In a settlement, however, I cannot make the Client present an offer they are not willing or able to pay, and I cannot force the Plaintiff to accept an offer lower than their bottom line. These cases, despite good effort on all sides, simply do not settle. Resolution then will involve increasingly more complicated options like turning over secured Property or filing for Bankruptcy.

However, even when we are unable to settle a case, we typically have prevented default judgment, counselled the Client on the law and the nature of their contractual obligations, and offered multiple avenues of resolution for the Client to consider. But the most valuable things we supply to our Clients are the experience in Texas Courts we have gained over a decade and the ability to offer time for our Clients to review the case data from a legal perspective, not an emotional one. This is how we guide Clients to make the best possible economic decisions for themselves to resolve their debt obligations.

Debt settlement is less about eliminating debt completely and more about finding a reasonable and responsible way to restructure a debt obligation. Clients who can get to this point, are often able to move past this debt over time and go on to make better financial decisions in their personal and Business lives thereafter.