It sounds like with the number of credit cards you are currently holding, along with the large balance on the citibank card, you would be a great candidate for a REPUTABLE debt settlement program. I say reputable because it is well known that the majority of debt settlement companies have taken their fees first before they ever settle one of your accounts. However, new FTC legislation bans this practice, and as of October 27th, 2010, debt settlement companies must settle at least one of your debts before they can charge you for their services. You may genuinely benefit from working with an accredited debt settlement company. By doing so, the company will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf to help secure a settlement that is a percentage of what you originally owed. Great settlements are usually somewhere between 40-60% of the original debt. If you do choose to do this be aware that your credit will initially suffer, but that with more cash flow to go around because it is not being eaten up in minimum payments and interest, you can actually begin to repair your own credit by making solid financial decisions. In reality, you most likely already have poor credit due to your current situation, so you seem to have nothing to lose by seeking reputable, outside help. You can get ideas for repairing your credit from myfico.com. Further, I would be wary of going with a credit counseling agency. Though they may have a 'non-profit' status, they are in reality usually set up by the credit card companies themselves in order to recover as much of the original debt as possible. Nobody works for 'free.' Credit counseling works by contacting your creditors to lower the overall interest rate of a debt. Though this may save you some money, you would be better off finding an accredited debt settlement company to negotiate for you. Arm yourself with perseverance and a solid understanding of all your options. Once you set your mind on a plan, follow through- debt does not have to consume your entire life, and can be paid off in time.

First the most important thing is they can not discuss or try to collect the debt from anyone other than the name on the card. Some states how ever can discuss it with the spouse but they can't collect or force the spouse to pay. If they have disclosed the debt to his mom they have violated FDCPA regulations. He can actually sue them for doing this. This can not show up on the wifes credit report unless she is on the account as an authorized user. If o, she need to call and remove herself. She also need to stress "Do not call me at work" they have to of once again they will violate FDCPA regs. The only other way it can affect the wife is if they own a home and the credit card company decides to litigate if they are successful they can have a lien put against the house. Consumer Credit Counseling Services is a great place to start, but beware of the "gazillion" companies out there they "pretend" to be CCCS. They need to give them a call. With the wife increasing her debt they may soon find that she is in the same shape. If he hasn't worked since last year he needs to go out and get some kind of job to bring something in. In my 30 years in the "credit" industry you can't believe the number of times I have heard "if I can't make what I was making I am not going to take the job". I don't know their situation but something is better than nothing. Hope this helps. Karla p.s. Sue I have a friend who is also an attorney and goes through the same thing. about once a month I get a call from him that starts with "I have this client....." lol he is getting pretty good at the credit thing :)

There really isn't anything horribly wrong with credit counselors, and they have probably helped many people. The only problem is that using them puts a pretty big dent in your credit rating, and a lot of people wind up filing bankruptcy anyhow. To a creditor, someone in credit counseling is in most ways a WORSE risk than someone who has just filed bankruptcy, because the bankruptcy option is still out there for you when you're in credit counseling. If you file bankruptcy, on the other hand, you can't do it again for six years. Since you're already in credit counseling, the best thing to do at this point would be stick with it, continuing to make your scheduled payments, and keep your existing credit accounts open. The creditors may not cancel your accounts, as they often do in bankruptcy, since you are paying them off. One option available to you if you don't want to file bankruptcy and want to avoid credit counseling is to contact creditors yourself. Many times you as an individual can work out agreements very similar to (or maybe even better than) a credit counseling service can do.

As mentioned above, this might be an option: Foreclosure may be avoided by giving up property deed JIM FLYNN Columnist Last week, I told you about short sales a sale of property by a distressed borrower where the lender agrees to release its lien for less than what it is owed. Lenders will occasionally agree to this on the theory that this is as good as itÂs going to get. ThatÂs because foreclosing against the property will add cost and delay, and wonÂt increase the amount of money the lender will ultimately receive from its collateral. Sometimes, lenders will not only agree to a short sale, theyÂll also agree to forgive the remaining balance on the loan. But sellers canÂt count on that. Another strategy that often comes into play when a borrower gets in trouble on a loan is called a "deed in lieu of foreclosure." Here, the borrower agrees to turn ownership of the property over to the lender by signing a deed. This again saves the lender the cost and delay associated with a foreclosure and will usually include a promise on the part of the borrower to leave the property in good condition  something that doesnÂt always occur when the lender takes the property back in foreclosure and evicts the borrower. In a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction, a borrower has good odds of negotiating an arrangement whereby the lender will agree to consider the loan paid in full in exchange for immediate ownership of the property. Borrower to lender: "Hello lender? Borrower here. Listen, IÂll give you a deed to my property if you agree to cancel the promissory note I signed. What do you say?" Lender to borrower: "Why should I do that?" Borrower to lender: "Because otherwise itÂs going to take you six months to get the property back and cost you $5,000 in legal fees, and I may not leave the property in the best condition when I pack up and go. Plus, after you evict me, IÂll file bankruptcy." Lender to borrower: "Oh." If a deed in lieu of foreclosure is to occur, the parties need to enter into a written agreement that explains whatÂs going on  specifically, that the borrowerÂs debt is being satisfied by a voluntary transfer of the property. This agreement will also contain language that the lenderÂs title insurance company will insist on stating that the borrower really knows what heÂs doing and has agreed to give up legal rights built into the foreclosure process  notably, the right to cure the default and stop the foreclosure during a several month period while the foreclosure is moving from initial filing to sale. Keep in mind that a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction wonÂt work if there are other liens on the property. ThatÂs because if the senior lender gets a deed to the property from its borrower, the title will be subject to those other liens and the lender is going to have to foreclosure in any event to get rid of them. Thus, a deed from the borrower wonÂt accomplish the goal of saving cost and delay associated with a foreclosure. Like short sales, deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions come with considerable legal baggage and borrowers are best advised to see a lawyer before moving in this direction. Jim Flynn is a local attorney. Contact him c/o The Gazette, P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs 80901; fax 578-8836 or e-mail jtflynn325@hotmail.com. Not all questions can be answered.