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AFTER BK DOCTOR PROMOTES FINANCIAL HEALTH Valencia, CA, July 20, 2001--Dr. Duane Anderson, DC, a Castaic resident, once used his hands and knowledge of the human body as a chiropractor to help others out of pain. In 1995 he suffered his own most painful experience; declaring personal bankruptcy. Today, Dr. Anderson is the Founder of a rapidly growing company that salvages debt-ridden consumers through a process called debt mediation. His Valencia-based firm, The Debt Solution, Inc., offers consumers a second-chance alternative to bankruptcy that he never got. Anderson's story parallels that of many others forced into bankruptcy. American consumers are financially vulnerable due to their historically high debts loads. Personal bankruptcies rose 17% in the first quarter of 2001, raising the possibility that bankruptcies will exceed the 1998 record of 1.44 million by year-end. By comparison, the entire state of New Hampshire reported only 1.23 million residents in the 2000 census. LowerMyBills.com calculates thirty-two million U.S. households are now at risk of bankruptcy due to deficit spending patterns. Personal bankruptcies are most often precipitated by loss of work, lawsuits, medical problems, or marital/family difficulties. For Dr. Anderson, divorce and the subsequent loss of income combined with existing obligations to create an insurmountable mountain of debt. Prior to that Anderson and his wife, also a doctor, had established a flourishing practice. They were beginning to enjoy the benefits of a household with two professional incomes and little realized they were set up to fail. "My wife and I had a misconception about finances which I have since found to be very common," states Duane Anderson. "We looked at credit was an asset, instead of a liability. If we received a new card offer or an increased credit limit, we took it for granted that we could afford to spend that increase." Unfortunately, lenders can be especially lenient with doctors," recalls Anderson, "due to the perception of high income potential. With that comes the temptation to obtain the lifestyle you want today and pay for it 'tomorrow' on credit." As borrowings grew the realization eventually came that such a lifestyle was only rented, not owned. "A compounding factor was that my wife and I maintained separate bank accounts and separate credit cards," Dr. Anderson remembers. "We didn't always plan as a household and this made it more difficult to track our overall level of debt." Credit problems and other factors took their toll on the Anderson marriage, culminating in a 1989 divorce. "Whatever may have resolved personally, the divorce was a financial disaster," observes Anderson. "Where before we had barely been getting by on a two-income household, neither of us could as well, or even half as well on our own." As part of their settlement Anderson left to his wife the practice they had built together. The burden of unpaid debts and taxes eventually forced her into personal bankruptcy despite the viability of the practice. Duane was starting from scratch in a new field and faced a similar fate. "I went to debt counseling," Anderson recalls, "but was shocked when I found I didn't qualify! The counselor examined my finances and saw I couldn't handle a debt management plan to cover minimum payments on all my debts. That was the only option they could offer me." With no other alternative in sight, Anderson filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 1992. "I could not satisfy the creditors," he recalls, "and, if anything, my obligations to them were increasing. I could go underground, lose my identity and hope they would not find me. Or, I could declare bankruptcy." In a twist of fate an IRS claim, later completely discredited, surfaced before the bankruptcy court and nullified the 1992 settlement. Anderson had since remarried to a woman with three children, only to find his personal finances once again completely up in the air. After struggling for several years Dr. Anderson was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1995. The humiliation suffered by Anderson's second wife at being forcibly included in his bankruptcy proceedings strongly contributed to their divorce a short time later. Despite reassurances to the contrary, bankruptcy brought almost total destruction of Anderson's credit, making life very, very difficult to this day. Everyday transactions like buying a car, buying a house, leasing office space, getting a credit card became quite difficult, sometimes impossible, after the bankruptcy. In some cases, financing was available, but at "impossible" rates, like 25% on a car loan. "The solution to debt has three parts," states Anderson. "First is to set up a realistic debt elimination program. Second is to rehabilitate the borrower so that they can better handle their finances and third is to return them to productive life so that they can repay what is owed." "Bankruptcy offers a resolution of debts and therefore some personal relief, but it clearly doesn't rehabilitate a debtor," notes Anderson, "as a person in bankruptcy completely loses control of their life and budget. Further, their ability to produce is penalized in a way that not only makes it very difficult to be self-employed, but also can severely limit their ability to work for others. They are branded practically for life." According to Anderson, consumers who qualify for debt counseling should follow that approach. However, those can no longer meet their minimum payments will find they do not qualify and will need other alternatives. In 1998, Duane Anderson co-founded The Debt Solution, Inc., a Valencia-based company, to provide debt mediation services as an alternative to bankruptcy. Debt mediation or debt settlement, a fee-based service, operates on the principle that if a person cannot meet all of their obligations, they should at least pay a proportionate amount of each debt and give some satisfaction to each creditor. Creditors also benefit as bankruptcy is a lengthy and expensive process. Plus, all or part of a debtor's obligations to them can be wiped out in the process. Debt mediation offers a framework through which consumers can clear up confusions about finance, alter destructive spending habits and address outstanding debts. The process designed to render someone debt-free in about three years. Individual circumstances vary, but most people graduate the program with substantially better credit than when they started and they can make car loans or home loans at reasonable rates. "If they had declared bankruptcy," notes Dr. Anderson, "the person's credit and ability to borrow would be completely ruined for at least ten years, and quite likely beyond that." "Many go through bankruptcy thinking as I did that they have no alternative," states Anderson. "Today, people have a viable alternative to bankruptcy and that alternative is debt mediation." About The Debt Solution: The Debt Solution, Inc., headquartered in Valencia, California, provides debt mediation services to qualifying consumers throughout the United States and Canada as a viable alternative to bankruptcy. The program offered by The Debt Solution differs from traditional debt counseling or debt consolidation. As these do not address the amount of outstanding indebtedness, they are not designed to help individuals who cannot sustain their minimum monthly payments. The program, while voluntary, is closely supervised. It greatly reduces the stress of creditor calls and produces a consumer who is totally debt-free within 24-36 months. The Debt Solution offers additional services that educate the debt-free graduates to manage their incomes wisely, attain financial responsibility and live prosperous lives of wealth accumulation. For more information on the Debt Solution call (866) 863 - 5544 or visit www.TheDebtSolution.com. |
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| Phone # (866) 863 - 5544 Email Us - info@thedebtsolution.com Fax - (661) 702 - 0317 |
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