Ohio residents who are considering filing for bankruptcy should be aware that they are required to take two educational courses before their debts will be discharged. The first is a pre-bankruptcy counseling session, and individuals must provide a certificate of completion with their filing paperwork. Another course is also required, and must be completed after filing, which is a post-filing debtor education course.
Dealing with debt collector lawsuits
Ohio residents who encounter debt may be interested in ways to deal with debt collector lawsuits. According to the Federal Trade Commission, about 60 to 95 percent of debtors who are sued never show up in court. This may result in a default judgment against the debtor.
Pay down credit card debt more quickly in Ohio
Life changes might make accumulating credit card debt unavoidable, but paying it off as quickly as possible is important for one's financial future. Working to eliminate debt will result in lower overall payouts in interest. In addition, paying down debt lowers one's debt to income ratio, which leads to an improved credit score. Some of the ways to pay off debt faster could require making sacrifices, but the alternative might mean facing harassment from creditors, wage garnishments and long-term damage to one's credit.
Medical debt still a major issue for Ohio residents
The credit reporting agency FICO has stated that it will be changing the way that it handles its scoring of medical debt by reducing the impact that such obligations have on people's credit scores. According to FICO's director of public relations, just because someone has outstanding medical bills, it does not mean that they are likely to be late in making other payments. It is projected that people with outstanding medical debt but an otherwise good payment history will see their credit scores rise by an average of 25 points.
