Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with settlement

Should I settle with a bill collector?

citybuddha — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:38:23 -0800

A bill collector is willing to settle a disputed outstanding bill I have. They are offering a reduced settlement. Is there a way to insure that they will call this bill settled and not try to charge me more than the agreed upon amount and keep the experience off my credit history? Does anyone in the hive have any similar experiences with this sort of settlement?

How should I celebrate with my attorney?

zagyzebra — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:24:21 -0800

It's been a long, drawn out, time consuming battle, but finally, after 2.5 years, we're closing in on the finish line. All but one party has agreed to a final offer, and it looks like a settlement is almost certain. I am pleased to say that I have had an excellent working relationship with my attorney and credit us both equally for a significant accomplishment. Here's a question for the attorneys out there. How would you like to be thanked by a client? I've already given my attorney a bottle of tequila for hard work on one of two gigantic briefs. Then I just lost another bottle on a stupid bet I wagered on whether one of the parties to the settlement would agree to the mediator's amount. The big moment we've been waiting for is fast approaching. What to do to celebrate? Recommendations?

Problem cashing out a settlement- it's taking forever... or is it?

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:59:41 -0800

I shopped around to sell my structured settlement and now it's taking forever to get through the process. Is my story normal or am I being sold a bill of goods? I got a structured settlement when I was 21 and it's in payments of 225 per month for a certain period of time. Last December I needed some money and I did some shopping around and got some bids to cash it out. I got a bid for about 22k. I finally got all the paperwork in at the beginning of February to the company I was doing the transaction with from my insurance company.

Ever since then I have been getting the runaround from the company I made the deal with (Woodbridge). They claim I am waiting for a "court date" and I just need to be patient. I don't have my own lawyer and they have assigned me one and I am going to go in front of a judge to say why I need the money. They told me it would be done by around February 24th but that it is taking longer than usual because the "courts are busy".

It's almost April. Is this a normal time frame for these kinds of transactions? Any advice on what I could do would be helpful as I don't know how to proceed. I have tried calling and I just keep getting the same line... "be patient". I'm fine with being patient but I don't want this to drag on for months and months.

Throwaway email is nandn20121@gmail.com.

Politics in outer space

espada0 — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 03:51:27 -0800

What would politics in outer space look like? I was looking at the Rockwell International Integrated Space Plan and it got me wondering on how we would organise ourselves once we are settled or in the process of settling in outer space.

According to a few treaties settled in the 1960s, it was declared that outer space will only be used for peaceful and mutually beneficial purposes, but past and current activity in space relations doesn't seem to be heading in that direction at all (space race, high levels of secrecy surrounding the launch of unmanned objects into space, nations signalling interest in the militarisation of space i.e. Star Wars). That, and the fact that there is a massive amount of precious metals, solar energy, and thus also a huge potential for industrialisation in outer space probably means it will be quite difficult to separate politics from the development of human settlement in outer space.

Even if countries were able to put aside their self-interests, it would only last until the point when markets/systems of organisation develop, and politics would come into play again. It's interesting to think of what could happen: the treaties could be repealed, or the whole of settled outer space would be established as separate and disconnected from the earth (wouldn't be desirable), or there would be some new kind of politics made to bridge the "gaps" between earth relations and space relations.

Can a second accident affect a yet-to-be-settled case?

nonmerci — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 10:11:08 -0800

YANML, but please help me weigh the benefits of filing a police report about a car-bike accident when a settlement is still in process from a previous accident. The question might be confusing, so let me explain.

Situation #1: My partner was hit by a van last night while biking home. The van ran a stop light, and both he and the van were going around 5 mph. The van sped off before he or any of the passers-by could see the license plate. He was considering filing a police report, but he is unsure for the following reason:

Situation #2: About 10 months ago, he was in a worse accident, where a car hit him in a different area, also while biking. That settlement is pending, and they are paying for his health insurance, etc. He had right of way in this instance (as in the above), has a lawyer, etc.

He is concerned that if he files a police report about situation #1, then situation #2 will be affected. Mostly, he is concerned that he might not get a settlement as a result, or that his health problems from the first situation will be blamed on the second (he suffered a separated shoulder from situation #2--he is fine as far as we can tell from situation #1), etc.

His parents think he should absolutely file a police report regardless of these concerns. What do you all think? Will it hurt him to file? Does it matter? As far as I can tell, nothing will happen if a police report is filed, since police here don't spend much effort on bike-related crime or accidents. I know you are not our lawyer, but any advice would be appreciated.

My mother feels defeated by her child support battles

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 13:52:06 -0800

My mother hasn't received child support payments from my father for over a year; I think she's become incredibly depressed about her treatment by the legal system, and has come to believe that no matter what she does, she'll have to bear the full financial burden of raising my sister. Help me inspire her with a rational reason why she should keep trying. Some background: I'm the oldest of two children (myself and my sister), and my parents separated after I had already reached the age of maturity. I haven't spoken to my father since the separation, nor have my mother or sister - to keep it succinct, he was an abusive man, and none of us want to try to "make it work" after the hell that we endured when we were a family.

They divorced not long after the separation. My father didn't get any custody of my sister (as I said, they haven't spoken for years), and my mother got a restraining order against him. My father was made to pay a weekly child support payment - and, loving father that he was, negotiated it down to the state minimum of $49/week. He was also obligated to pay half of all my sister's out-of-pocket medical expenses. Though I was in college at the time, he was not obligated by the court to pay me anything; nevertheless, to let me know how he felt, he cut me and my sister out of his life insurance.

Since mid-2011, he's stopped paying both child support and medical expenses. He owes about a year's worth in back payments, and my mother has had to take on a second job to help make ends meet - my sister has also taken on a job to pay her own expenses. For the most part, both have trouble making ends meet, and my mother lives week-to-week, constantly exhausted and frazzled.

My father hasn't been employed since about 2007, so we've been told repeatedly that there is no way to garnish his wages or find out what he earns. He moves from place to place - I know he lived with his brother briefly, and he also lived [illegally] in the empty rooms of a hotel. I think he lives with a friend now, but I really don't know. My mother thinks it's possible that he has been earning money under the table somehow, this entire time, and that he's deliberately concealing it from us so as to avoid paying child support. This is possible, but, of course, also just speculation.

A few months ago, my mother took my father to Family Court for non-payment of child support and medical expenses. The court ruled that he was "willfully disobedient" of the divorce order, but had no set penalty in place for willful disobedience (which infuriates me, but the law is the law), and asked my mother to select the penalty. She asked her lawyer for probation, but - for whatever reason - her lawyer stood and asked that "no penalty be assessed."

This launched my mother into a deep depression. She is noticeably more apathetic about everything, and even though her lawyer advised her to just "go to court a second time" she doesn't think it would be worth the grief. She now believes that, even if my father were placed on probation, my sister would probably still never receive the child support she's owed. I think she firmly believes that, just like during their marriage, my father will continue to evade responsibility and face no consequences for it.

I have a suspicion that there are probably more ways for my mother to recover these child support payments than she sees, but she has simply become too enervated by this entire experience to keep trying. I too am at a loss as to what to do, and am forced to agree with her that, even if the 'penalty assessed' had been jail time, my father would probably still be able to successfully shirk these payments.

I know none of you are "a" lawyer or "my/her" lawyer, but at this point, I just need a convincing reason that would inspire her to meet with her lawyer. What other avenues to recover this money might she even have? Are we screwed?

(Also, we're in New York state, if that helps)

divorce settlement hindsight advice

jennstra — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:21:12 -0800

About to start discussing divorce details. What do you wish you known, what would you have done differently, what do you regret, what are glad you did? We've been separated for about 17 months. Two kids, 18 & 17, college money has been set aside. Neither of us is out to get the other. I stayed home 18 years, now working fulltime temp. I need health care insurance, as I had cancer 10 years ago. We have little debt, just a low mortgage, nothing else. I have an appointment with a certified divorce financial planner. We'd like to do this without court or lawyers. We live in Washington state. Communication is strained, but that is not new to us. Advice please!

What can happen in a divorce like this?

chatelaine — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:59:15 -0800

My friend's and his ex are divorcing. The ex is being financially irresponsible, which could be influencing the outcome of the settlement. The lawyer has suddenly dropped of the face of the earth. What can my friend do to find out what's going on? YANAL...

A close friend of mine is going through a no-fault divorce. They have no children. She moved out long ago and is living locally with her family; he's living in the house they had together.

Both my friend and his ex have lawyers, but for the sake of simplicity and to avoid incurring more costs, they agreed to work primarily through her lawyer.

At this point, both my friend and his ex have submitted all the necessary documentation, records, etc. to her lawyer. The only thing that now remains is the settlement.

The divorce process began in May of this year; it started out moving rather quickly and my friend was told (by her lawyer) that this was a relatively simple divorce case and as such would be a priority case for her, one that could be resolved in a matter of weeks.

They were both issued a "financial restraining order" which mandates that neither party can do anything fiscally irresponsible (e.g., no buying that island in the sun) until after the divorce is complete. It also mandates that each party must continue to pay all their bills and meet all their regular financial obligations.

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, my friend started receiving messages from debt collectors who were asking for his ex. The calls became very persistent. Finally, he informed them that she no longer lived there and gave them her contact info at her family's house, and since then, the collections calls have stopped. Judging by the extent of the calls prior to that time, she must have seriously
ruined her credit in a very short time, something he informs me she had never had a problem with before. All of the credit cards are in her name; he is not affiliated with her credit accounts in any way whatsoever.

Around the same time that the collection calls started, the contact from her lawyer came to an abrupt halt. The lawyer would only communicate via email (no phone calls), but now there is hardly any
communication from the lawyer at all. My friend is understandably feeling a bit anxious to have some kind of update on the settlement. He has sent several emails of a courteous and professional nature requesting any kind of response and has not heard anything back.

So the questions are:

1. Will her credit issues affect the outcome of the settlement (in other words, can he end up getting screwed in the settlement because of her current financial problems, which did not begin until after the divorce paperwork was submitted by both parties, and even though his name is not associated with her credit cards)?

2. Does anyone have any insights into her financial behaviour? In terms of the timing, it seems interesting. Is this some kind of ploy or game? Is what she's doing slowing down the settlement process?

3. Why is the lawyer suddenly so unresponsive? What can my friend do in order to facilitate more frequent communication with his ex's lawyer?

This is in the state of Nevada, fyi.

Best way to handle this summons?

Anonymous — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 18:00:58 -0800

Any chance to settle with a collections agency once I've received a summons to court? Several years ago I got a small limit ($2k, I think) credit card from my bank because I couldn't afford needed dental work. Used the card for a while, was paying it down. Bank got bought by another bank. Missed a couple payments but had serious problems trying to find a contact at the new bank to help. Balance at this point was about $1400, about $1100 mine and $300 in fees (or more). I tried for a while to get someone to help me with it and finally just ignored it, was unemployed about a year. (Bad move ignoring it, I understand.)

Ignored initial collection agency. Next one is more serious. Got lawyerly letters at work. Told them I needed to see proof of the debt. They got back to me about a month later with all the details of the debt. (Damn!) Then a couple weeks after that (yesterday), someone came to work with a summons. I did not sign it, because it says "Defendant's home address:" and lists my work address. I said this is wrong. He said well you don't have to sign it. I said fine, I won't sign it, and he left it with me.

Anyway, I know they probably paid very little for this $2160 debt. 10%? I know people say "pennies on the dollar". So here I am, with a summons to appear in mid-August at a court date. Is it still possible for me to make a settlement offer? I was thinking of offering half. The summons says $2160 +costs. (No clue how much court costs might be.)

My SO makes decent money (but we have almost no savings and don't have loads laying around by any means) and has offered to pay it, clearly prefers to avoid extra costs added to it, and ideally would prefer we try to get a much lower settlement amount. I make $600 working 30 hrs/week. One check every month goes to my student loan which has been refused for income sensitive repayment, and is slightly more than one full week's take home per month. (I don't foresee being rid of it before I'm dead.) Normally I can pay for my own stuff but I know that dealing with this debt now is the only option. So.

tl;dr Got served with a summons from collection agency for a $2160.00 old credit card bill +costs. Any chance they will still settle?

Last mile legal fee arrangement for personal injury claim

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:43:25 -0800

Another driver ran a red light and hit my car, leaving me with minor but permanent injuries. Their insurance company accepts liability and wants to settle, but their offer is about 20% lower than what I'm willing to accept. I've handled everything myself to this point (and have compiled 700+ pages of well-organized documentation), but the insurance company won't budge and it seems I'll need an attorney to negotiate the last 20%. What's the most reasonable fee arrangement for handling a nearly-resolved claim? Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, doing all the work up front and taking 30%-40% (plus expenses) from the total settlement. That's not a good match for me because I've done most of the work for them.

It seems like a letter from an attorney telling the insurance company that they now represent me is all it would take to get the results I need. Although I know some personal injury attorneys work on an hourly basis, I'm afraid of a potentially open-ended arrangement at $200 per hour or more.

In either case, the legal fees are likely to eat up more than the extra 20% I might hope to get. In a perfect world I could go to an attorney and say, "they offered to settle for $X, I will give you Y% of every dollar above $X you're able to negotiate in the final settlement." That would give them incentive to try for a bigger settlement, while not paying them for all the work I've already done.

Do competent personal injury attorneys ever accept this type of arrangement? If not, is there a common and fair arrangement for this situation?

Is it possible to abandon a UK settlement visa if you move?

caoimhe — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 05:43:07 -0800

Is it possible to abandon your UK settlement visa? More UK immigration questions! I am currently living in the UK, but may be moving outside of the EU for a few years. I know in the US, if you leave for years, immigration may deem you to have "abandoned" your green card, and can be quite vigilant about this. Is the same true of UK immigration?

In short, if I have a permanent settlement visa and leave for, say, five years -- will I have to reapply for a new one?

Hope me dig out of this hole!

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:26:54 -0800

Settling with credit card company and dealing with debt collectors. Hey, my husband has not been able to work for a few years and we stopped paying on our credit card bills over a year ago. One of the companies is getting really aggressive (calling me at work, talking to the receptionist, etc.) so I feel that I need to take action. I would like to offer them a settlement amount. In your experience, would they accept 30%? I don't want my starting offer to be too high since I have other card companies just around the corner. If they take me to court, will I have to pay the whole thing?

I have some money in the bank from my bonus in December. Should I take that out and put it in my mattress so they can't get to it? Part of it is an emergency fund and part is savings for things like gifts for the kids (birthdays coming up soon).

Should I negotiate over the phone with them? I would get any agreement in writing before I gave them the money.

thank you

I'm getting "rear-ended' by an insurance company on an auto accident settlement. Advice please?

loquat — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:32:21 -0800

No lawyer wants to touch this, so how do I negotiate a settlement with an insurance company on my injury claim for a motor vehicle accident? The adjuster for the at-fault driver is offering me $500 firm with no compensation for time off from work (taking sick days, doctor's appointments, etc.) or anything else. I'm not looking to profit from this, but every time I think $500, I get upset to the point where I can't even think rationally.

It's upsetting to think that this company thinks $500 is the fair amount for my "pain and suffering" despite the fact that I missed out on a mini-vacation due to the whiplash injuries, my work suffered, my social activities dissolved to nothing but staying in bed evenings and weekends, and still almost 9 months later, I can't lift a suitcase or carry a child without feeling pain and soreness in my neck and back for days!

So when they tell me $500 is what they're willing to give in compensation, it feels like they're minimizing the impact this accident had on my life. I'm not severely or permanently injured, my car suffered only some superficial scratches on the rear bumper, but nonetheless, I've had to deal with some more than inconvenient things as a result of this accident.

With car accidents so unfortunately common, I'd like to ask people about their experience of the negotiation process and what advice might help me get to the point where the sum they offer doesn't evoke such an emotional response. Because if this is really about compensation for my pain and suffering, that $500 is just insult to my injuries!

Compensation for hot water burn

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:35:19 -0800

Burn insurance settlement for child My young child was burned by hot water at a children's facility. (Not a daycare centre, but a family fun center-type place.) The water was from a sink and burned instantly due to splashing. I don't want to provide identifying details here (in case the company finds this), but suffice it to say that this was not due to a lack of supervision on my part. My child was burned *immediately*. Small 1st degree burns on the face and a 2nd degree burn to the arm on a joint. It was very painful for my child. The facility was quite unhelpful at the time and when we kept trying to follow up (for fear about other children). I could provide more info here, but don't want to provide identifying case details.

We talked to lawyers and all said we should try to work this out on our own with the insurer because they felt we could work something out. But they couldn't speculate on amount.

I'm not trying to gouge the insurer, but my child did suffer painful burns that required an ER visit, a follow up doctor's visit, daily dressing changes, bandaging (which took a while to do and was upsetting and painful), ointment, pain medication, etc. My child is now scared of taps (understandably). I have no idea where to start with this.

The insurance company has asked to meet with us in person and has not requested any medical records or photos or anything since we were contacted by them, despite us offering them. They also want both parents present. My mom used to work in insurance and she said that she suspects that they have "good neighbour coverage" that they hope to use to avoid a lawsuit and publicity. She said it should be more than home insurance good neighbour coverage ($500 to $1000 range for that). She never worked in commercial insurance, so she has no idea what would make sense for this. I have no idea what to expect and have no idea what is reasonable. Obviously, no one wants a drawn out process. I am not suing out of spite or anything, but for the sake of my child, who was in pain for a number of weeks and may have permanent scarring - and who's still scared of the event.

This is in Canada. And, yes, I know it comes down to what we think is acceptable, but I prefer going into situations with at least some info. Also, if it's relevant, parents are not allowed to sign away a child's rights at facilities here.

Thanks.

How frequently does a settlement date (for a property sale) get postponed?

lollusc — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:02:48 -0800

How common is it for settlement (on a house purchase) to be delayed? We are buying a house. There is no real reason to expect that settlement won't be smooth. We are all approved for our finance; our lawyer and broker say the date will be fine. The vendor's bank is the only uncertainty from our point of view.

But I basically have two choices when booking things like removalists, power/phone/internet, end of lease cleaning etc:

1. assume that settlement will most likely go through on the planned day. Book things accordingly. Risk losing a few hundred dollars if it doesn't.

2. assume that settlement will most likely be delayed. Book things accordingly. Lose a similar amount of money (due to rebookings and/or paying extra unnecessary rent, etc) if it is on time.

Basically, should I bet for or against an on-time settlement? Neither scenario is going to bankrupt me, but I'd like to know the most likely outcome.

Reading around on the internet I find lots of horror stories about settlement dates not working out, but it's hard to tell if that's just because people tend to write more about things that go wrong than things that go right.

Does anyone have any hard data on how frequently settlements get delayed? Or soft anecdata about their own? (Especially people who have bought and sold multiple properties, or know a lot of other people who have.)

And when settlements get delayed, is it usually just by a couple of days, or by weeks?

Offering a settlement on a credit card - how did it go for you?

DandyRandy — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:02:11 -0800

I'd like to call my credit card company and offer to settle my $10K account for $5K, but circumstances extenuate - how has this worked for those of you who have tried? For the past four years I've been grinding away at a debt management program that will finally wrap up this summer - yay! When I started, there was one credit card account that declined to participate, and I've been trying to be aggressive in cutting that down to size; right now that one stands at around $10K at 11%.

However, I lost my job last week, and I won't be able to pay the minimum payment, much less the over-and-above I've been managing for lo these many months. Because of the job loss and the little bit of severance that came with it, along with vacation payoff, etc. I have a little extra cash. I also have a 401(k) disbursement, so that cash is available if I need it to do what I want to do: I want to offer a settlement to the outstanding card account, say, .50 on the dollar. I am not able to offer much more than that.

My debt management co. says that I have to be seriously delinquent before the credit card company will entertain the idea. The thing is, through all of this, I've never missed a payment, nor have I ever been late. Too bad, but I feel like now is the time to strike.

For those of you MeFites that have done this, how has it worked for you? Any advice on how to approach this from a debtor's point of view? Do I really need to stop paying for five months for this to happen? Many thanks for your consideration!

Asking for a prenup in a "nice" way.

myaskme — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:47:06 -0800

Any tips on broaching the subject of a pre-nup? I am not seeking legal advice, just your thoughts on how best to crack this difficult nut.

Background: I've been married once before; the marriage dissolved when my ex had an affair. It was totally shocking, and entirely out of character; we had been together nearly 20 years. The one benefit was that my ex and I are each professionals, there was no question of either supporting the other, and we each kept our own assets and liabilities.

Fast forward a few years, and I'm going to be married again, though I haven't proposed yet. I have somewhere around $450,000 in assets; my girlfriend has less, but she stands to inherit at least that much from her parents someday.

I'd like to discuss a prenup with my girlfriend, but I really don't know how. She is no gold digger, having been blindsided by my ex wife's affair, I'd like to make sure that I have some measure of protection for my nest egg. I think there is a fair arrangement--we each keep what we come with (me: lots; her: little) and keep the inheritances we stand to receive (me: little; her: lots). We're in a state where the law would otherwise provide for 50/50 split of everything, regardless of when/where/how acquired.

Any thoughts on how to proceed? Is this a pre-proposal question? Post-proposal? I really do adore this woman, and I don't want her to think I'm some sort of rat.

Mass. income

pentagoet — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:58:49 -0800

My BIL claims that insurance settlements for injury are not taxable income in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I can't believe the state doesn't overfish that particular revenue stream. So, is it taxable income or not?

Debt Settlement

jassi — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:30:14 -0800

I have a credit card debt of $4200 on a closed account, which I want to get rid of by end of this month. The interest rate charged is almost $65 I talked to the credit card company and asked for a settlement which they agreed for 60% off my balance i.e pay $2500 approx, but said this will be reported on my credit report, and I will also owe tax on the remaining debt. Should I go this way, or pay off my debt completely?. I have an average credit score of 660 and have no other debt.

Sosumi...

unreasonable — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:29:36 -0800

Can you contract away your right to sue over unrelated future claims in a settlement? Let's say I punch Person A and then he sues me for damages. Rather than go to court we want to settle. Can Person A agree to not sue me over the punch and other punches which may or may not happen in the future as part of the settlement?

Country song in reverse: you get your car back, you get your wife back, you get your dog back...

sheena is a sock puppet — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:21:47 -0800

[DivorceFilter] How do you go about revising the financial terms of a divorce agreement, particularly when both parties are now in a different state than the one in which the divorce took place? (First off: yes, this was not an ideal settlement, and yes, lawyers have been contacted in both states. We're waiting to hear back.)

My partner and his ex divorced in Iowa in 2008. No kids, no real estate, no investments or similar. They are not adversarial, but she has always been less than forthcoming about things hence the cheating, divorce and her upcoming marriage (which we heard about through a third party).

The bulk of the financial terms involved him paying off the balance on certain credit cards, in her name, because a) they had incurred those expenses together and b) she hadn't been employed for a good two or three years.

Now they're both living in Wisconsin. She's been fully employed for a while now, and getting hitched to a guy who makes a lot of money, so she should pay for her own bills.

Mainly, he just wants to send her a letter saying that he doesn't want to pay for it anymore. He could just stop paying it, but he is worried that it could somehow affect his credit (and backing out of the agreement is not okay). She is probably not fully clear on her own affairs; she had no idea when he had started paying for it. Of course, we have to prepare for the possibility that she will hire someone who knows what they're doing, even if she doesn't.

There are many other details here, mainly involving me wanting to kick her, but is this the kind of thing that can be renegotiated? And does it have to be in the state where the divorce took place, or can we do it up here?

I get a car! And I get a car!

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:41:42 -0800

I'm purchasing a new car, and I'm getting conflicting information about what to do with an insurance settlement check I received. My insurance company recently decided to settle a claim with me, and I received a check for the actual cash value of my car (over $14K) minus the remainder of the loan (under $3K) minus my $250 deductible. So I have a check for more than $11K, and I'd like to put all of it toward the down payment on my new car.

I'm hearing that if I take the check and deposit it, that counts as income I'll have to report to the IRS.

I'm ALSO hearing that it's not taxable income, based on the idea that I effectively sold the car to my insurance company for less than I paid for it originally, so I didn't make any money off of the deal.

Can any CPAs out there (yes, yes, who aren't my CPA) straighten me out on this? I'm in Virginia, if that makes a difference.

Is credit card settlement worth the hit to my credit score?

callmejay — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:28:53 -0800

Is credit card settlement worth the hit to my credit score? I have about $15,000 in credit card debt at rates approaching 30%. I know that I can settle at least part and possibly all of that debt by paying 70% of it immediately to the credit card companies with money from a lower-interest loan (15%) from another source. In essence, I'd be saving $4500 immediately, plus the savings resulting from the difference in interest rates. I realize that I will be taxed on that savings as if it were income and I also realize that settling can (will) hurt my credit score.

What I don't know is how to quantify the cost of my credit score being hurt. Is it worth $4500 + interest to keep my credit score up or is it better to (metaphorically) take the money? I own (mortgage) my house and don't plan to be buying another for at least another 4-5 years. I will need some sort of car in December. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I would need good credit for.

Can anyone place a monetary value on the difference in credit score if I do this and if I don't? And how long will it take my credit to recover?

Thanks!

Will there be a single bright light in the middle of the room?

anastasiav — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:22:39 -0800

I was in a serious auto accident in October of 2009. I do have an attorney. We've filed suit to settle the case, and my deposition is this afternoon. As the time grows closer, I'm getting more and more anxious about this. What should I expect? The settlement value of this case is very high, because my injuries were serious and my medical bills were high. The other driver's insurance has (I assume) accepted his responsibility because they already paid the loss on the vehicle (scooter vs car - I was the scooter). Yet I suspect (because I distrust insurance companies, and because of some other things that have happened in the case) that they're going to try and play hardball and perhaps insinuate that I somehow caused the crash (I did not). I do have a prep session with my attorney one hour before the deposition, but I'm losing my mind waiting until then.

Have you been through this? What should I expect?

Worth it to buy an annuity?

acridrabbit — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:21:21 -0800

Apparently I qualify to buy an annuity as part of a class action settlement. Is it worth it? I got a notice of settlement in the Douglass et al v. American United Life Insurance Company class action suit saying that as a class member, I am eligible to buy a tax-deferred AccumAnnuity II that will accrue interest at 1.25% higher than what's available to the general public. According to this page, the rate would be 3.7% + 1.25% for year 1, going down from there to 3.35% + 1.25% at year 7. That's certainly better than the 2% I'm getting from a CD or savings account.

So, assuming this is not a scam (I don't think it is), should I do it? I don't have much in savings, but I could probably swing a small amount (like $5k) and still keep a healthy emergency fund. I am in my mid-thirties, healthy, married, no kids. I have less than $15k saved for retirement so far, but I'm maxing out my contribution every year. I save about 20% of my income. Aside from student loans at 6% interest and a mortgage I make 13 payments on every year, I have no debt. I live in Massachusetts, if it matters.

Thanks in advance for any advice.