How to Get Debt Relief in Louisiana

George Simons | October 19, 2022

Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Finding debt relief feels like ^^

Summary: If you're struggling with debt in Louisiana, SoloSuit can help you find the relief you

If you are feeling burdened by a significant amount of credit card debt (in addition to other forms of debt), do not throw your hands up in despair. Challenges associated with managing personal debt is a common issue. For example, the average American is carrying more than $6,000 in credit card debt, according to a survey conducted by Experian Consumer Credit Review. People residing in Louisiana have, on average, around $5,800 in credit card debt, according to CNBC.

If you are having a hard time managing your monthly debt payments, now is the time to figure out how to get debt relief in Louisiana.

Explore these Louisiana debt relief programs

Louisiana Housing Programs: The Louisiana Housing Corporation administers multiple programs offering assistance to renters, homebuyers and owners. These programs include fixed-rate, low-interest mortgages and assistance to renters in locating and securing affordable, community-based housing.
Operation Round-Up: Multiple utility companies operating in Louisiana participate in Operation Round-Up to help low-income residents struggling with utility bills. The way the program works is that utility customers can have their monthly bills rounded up to the nearest dollar to provide a fund to help needs such as eyeglasses, hearing aids, handicap modifications, wheelchair ramps, medication and food.
Louisiana SeniorRX Program: Administered by the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, this program connects low-income, elderly Louisiana residents with pharmaceutical aid programs.
Private Student Loan Relief: Provides a network of financial counselors who link troubled families with trustworthy agencies for financial assistance with private student loans.

Consider a debt consolidation loan

Depending on your credit score, applying for a debt consolidation loan may be a viable option worth considering in your efforts to get rid of debt in Louisiana. The reason your credit score matters is primarily due to the fact that you have to apply, and be approved, for a consolidation loan.

A debt consolidation loan is a great way to lower your monthly payments if you have a high credit score and can secure a new loan at a more favorable interest rate. If you have a home, you can take out a home equity loan. If not, you will need to go to the bank and apply for a loan or secure a credit card balance transfer if the only debt you're consolidating is credit card debt.

A debt consolidation loan will help you by giving you one low monthly payment to attend to instead of several smaller payments to numerous creditors. This will allow breathing room so you can pay your other living expenses like your mortgage or rent, groceries, and utilities.

Please keep in mind that if you are approved for a consolidation loan and use it to pay off your other debts, you are still on the hook to pay down this new loan. You also need to exercise financial discipline to avoid going back into credit card debt so you are not stuck with both a consolidation loan and new credit card balances.

Adopt a debt paydown strategy

Along with debt consolidation loans, there are strategies you could adopt to help manage your debts and get them paid down in a reasonable amount of time. Two of the most popular strategies include the “snowball” strategy and the “avalanche” strategy.

If you opt for the snowball strategy, you will start by paying your smallest debt first and continue to make minimum payments on other debts to ensure you do not go into default. After you pay off the smallest balance, you then take that payment and roll it into the amount being applied toward your next balance. Once that balance is paid, you roll both payment amounts to the next highest balance and so on.

If you go with the debt avalanche strategy, you start by paying off the balance with the highest interest rate while continuing to pay the minimum payments on all of your other debts. When that balance is paid, you redirect that same payment towards another balance with the second highest interest rate, and so on.

Weigh the pros and cons of hiring a debt settlement company

Another option available to residents for figuring out how to get debt relief in Louisiana includes hiring a debt settlement company. Though, if you decide to work with a debt settlement program, it is important to go into the process with your eyes open understanding the potential costs you may incur.

For example, a debt settlement company will advise you to halt any and all future payments towards your debts. This means your accounts will be deemed delinquent and generate late fees, higher interest rates, and penalties like a hit to your credit score. In addition, debt settlement companies do not work for free. This means you need to be prepared to pay the company a fee for the work they do on your behalf. Another con to debt settlement is that the IRS will consider the difference between the settlement amount and the original amount owed as taxable income.

On the other hand, the benefit of working with a debt settlement company is that they may be able to ultimately negotiate a settlement with your creditors where you wind up paying only around 50%-80% of the total amount owed. It also takes the stress off of your mind to have a debt settlement company negotiate the payment agreement for you. With debt settlement, there's a great chance you will save yourself money and stress of figuring it all out alone.

Louisiana debt collection laws can protect you

One of the most important debt collections laws in the state of Louisiana is the statute of limitations on debt. This is the deadline that debt collectors and creditors have to sue a consumer for a debt. As a Louisiana resident, knowing the statutes of limitations for different kinds of debt can protect you from getting sued for an old debt:

Louisiana Statute of Limitations on Debt
Debt Type	Deadline in Years
Written	10
Oral	10
Rent	3
On Account	3
Judgements	10
Source: Findlaw

This means that debt involving mortgage, credit cards, and auto loans have a statute of limitations of only three years. As such, if a debt collector wants to take you to court over any of these types of debts, they must do it within three years of your last payment on the account or your last written admission of the debt.

Summary of How to Get Debt Relief in Louisiana

If you reside in Louisiana and are struggling with a significant amount of debt (whether that be credit card debt, student loan debt, medical debt, etc.), do not throw your hands up in despair and embrace a life where you are perpetually dragged down by debt service payments. There are options available to show you how to get debt relief in Louisiana. Those options usually include:

Explore debt relief programs in Louisiana
Take out a debt consolidation loan
Use a paydown debt strategy
Negotiating a debt settlement with the assistance of a debt settlement company

No matter the option you choose, SoloSuit is here to help. If you've been sued for debt, you can use SoloSuit's free Answer form to respond in court and win. Check out this video to learn more about how to respond to a debt lawsuit:

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You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate