How to Get Debt Relief in Massachusetts

Dena Standley | October 19, 2022

Legal Expert, Paralegal
Dena Standley, BA

Dena Standley is a seasoned paralegal with more than 20 years of experience in legal research and writing, having received a certification as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal from Southern Technical College.

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.

When you find the debt relief you deserve ^^

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

No matter where you live, debt of any kind can be overwhelming. Many Massachusetts residents deal with the heavy burden of unpaid debts ranging from credit cards, high-interest loans, mortgages, and medical bills.

Massachusetts is currently the 4th wealthiest state, but having this status comes with a price of the high cost of living, making it easy for residents to accumulate debt. In fact, the average debt-to-income ratio in Massachusetts is 116%, which means that every Massachusetts resident owes $1.16 in debt for each dollar earned.

The table below gives you a further breakdown of the consumer debt per household in Massachusetts based on the most recent report from the Federal Reserve.

Massachusetts Debt Per Household
Type of debt	Amount owed
Student loans	$6,290
Credit cards	$5,141
Mortgage	$50,230

Developing a debt relief plan can give you renewed hope of managing your debt. For example, it can help you make minimum payments for debts you have fallen behind on paying. Other options enable you to reduce the total debt or interest rates. Before discussing these options, let us look at the debt relief programs available in Massachusetts.

Utilize these debt relief programs in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has numerous nonprofit and other debt-relief programs available for those struggling to pay debt. Before working with any organization, such as a credit counseling agency, ensure they are approved by the Massachusetts justice department. Three examples of a long list of approved agencies found in the link provided are:

Cambridge Credit Counseling Corporation: A non-profit organization helping consumers manage their debt repayment and get out of debt.
American Consumer Credit Counseling: They offer financial counseling services by providing educational information to help consumers understand various debt relief options.
Incharge Debt Solutions: They assist consumers in consolidating their debt and help them reduce credit card interest, and develop a payment plan.

Apart from the organizations that work directly to assist you with your debt, others assist you in managing necessities that you may not afford at the moment, or they help you avoid accumulating more debt. They include:

CenterCare: Provides free healthcare and pays bills for low-income residents
Help with mortgage and foreclosure prevention: They aid consumers in refinancing a mortgage and prevent foreclosures
Massachusetts rental voucher program: Offers tenant-based vouchers to help with rent payment
Medical Security Program: Helps residents pay health insurance premiums and medical bills
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Food stamps help low-income households pay for food
Income-eligible child care: Subsidized child care services for those looking for work

Massachusetts residents who have used these programs give positive reports. For example, Sara, who qualified with Massachusetts Debt Relief Organization, said she went from almost filing bankruptcy to saving her state of mind and status after following their recommendations.

How to find debt relief in Massachusetts

Debt relief options in Massachusetts are available for everyone, irrespective of the debt amount. Various debt-relief options help you reduce your overall debt, strategize how to make payments efficiently, or make a new start by declaring bankruptcy. Keep reading to find out which options best suits your needs.

Refinance your loans

Refinancing replaces one loan with a new one that has better terms, such as minimum monthly payments or lower interest rates. Another variation is to change from an adjustable-rate to a fixed-rate loan. A third option is choosing a cash-out refinancing. For instance, you can take a higher mortgage loan than your home value and use the extra cash to clear your credit card and medical bills. Refinancing works best for consumers who took out loans with extremely high-interest rates.

Some cons to this option include paying a debt for an extended period due to the lower monthly payments. Secondly, if you refinance your student loan, you will not qualify to participate in other repayment plans such as income-based repayment plans, forbearance options, student loan forgiveness plans, and deferment options.

Consolidate your debt

Debt consolidation allows borrowers to compress several loans and pay them as a single loan. It is suitable for people with more than three separate debts who have a challenge paying them individually. This option requires you to apply for a personal loan with better terms and use it to pay off all your other separate debts. This strategy will leave you with only one debt to pay.

Debt consolidation is not a good option for consumers with poor credit scores. Any lending agency will check your credit report, and the pending loans may raise a red flag. You may fail to qualify for a loan to execute this debt relief option.

Use a balance transfer card

If you have several high-interest credit card debts, a balance transfer card can be an option. This debt relief plan entails shifting a high-interest credit card to a no-interest or low-interest card. The idea is to get a card that gives a promotional period by offering a 0% APR (Annualized Percentage Rate).

The next step is to focus entirely on clearing the credit card debt within the promotional period. The downside to this option is that you may be penalized and given a new or higher interest rate if you miss one payment. Choose this option if you know you will diligently make the full payments on time.

File for bankruptcy as a last resort

Filing for bankruptcy has two options: chapter 7, where your assets will be sold off or liquidated to pay off your debt, and chapter 13, which allows you to develop a 3–5 year court-approved payment plan and keep your assets if you do not miss payments.

Filing for bankruptcy in Massachusetts is expensive; the cost ranges from $1309–to $1414 for chapter 7 and approximately $1810 for chapter 13. In addition, the process can be stressful, but the Massachusetts state government website can simplify the process with its step-by-step guidance. One advantage of filing for bankruptcy is that you will be protected from debt collectors who keep calling and sending emails to pay your debt.

SoloSuit also helps consumers being harassed by debt collectors. Send a Debt Validation Letter, which requires debt collectors to to validate the debt before they can keep contacting you about it. Some collectors stop contacting you at this point. You can also use SoloSuit's free Answer form to respond to a debt lawsuit.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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