Debt Settlement

You should retain a debt settlement attorney if you are going to go this route to get rid of your unsecured debts. However, if you are hardy enough to attempt this on your own here is a tidbit of information regarding final settlements for various individual states.
When a creditor accepts a payment for less than the full amount you owe to settle an account, you may not be out of legal difficulty. In some states the creditor can still come after you for the remainder of the debt, even though you thought you had "settled" the account. Here's the different state laws:

In these states you can write "Paid in full" on the check and the creditor will have no legal standing to sue you for the remainder:
Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

Now in a few other states the creditor is guaranteed retention of the right to sue if he writes "under protest or without prejudice" on the payment check. These states are:
Alabama, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The remaining states make no guarantee as to the right of the creditor to sue or not. These are:
Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

It's laws like this and other more intricate details that make this process better suited for an attorney. Also, they will be much less expensive than you think.

If you are looking for debt settlement, attorney, programs, companies, help, counseling, management, relief, or consumer unsecured credit card debt ideas, then check some of the links below.