Parents of any age should consider establishing a will and spacing out a child’s access to inheritance funds based on birthdays or other life events. Without a will, your money will be distributed all at once to your children. This is why many people know that it is important to have your wishes outlined in a legal document.
In a time when so many Americans are facing overwhelming debt, it should come as no surprise that the older generation is attempting to do everything within their power to make sure that they are leaving their children in a better financial situation.
From the intervention of a third party collection agency to even more aggressive debt collection services, there are many times when parents and grandparents see a wide range of indicators that their inheritances may not be handled responsibly. And while the majority of people may want their wealth to pass on to their children and grandchildren, when those who will be receiving the inheritance are very young, there often needs to be some restrictions put in place.
Debt Collection Services and Debt Recovery Agencies Often Resort to Aggressive Tactics
If you are on the receiving end of the money that is owed, of course, you want to make sure that you are working with debt collection services that can help you collect the monies that are owed to you. If, however, you are someone who owes money you may be looking for advice on the best way to handle what can seem like an unsurmountable amount of money that is owed. The decision to hire a collection agency, for instance, is often a necessity for a small business that simply cannot devote the manpower that it may take to recover funds. If you are the consumer owning money, however, these debt collection services can cause an extreme amount of stress.
Fortunately, there are often ways to find a middle ground where companies are able to recover the money that is owed to them and consumers can more manageably meet their financial responsibilities. If your family has ever fallen victim to a sudden illness or a long health care need then you likely will not be surprised to know that as much as 47% of all debt collected in by the collection agency industry is related to health care.
Finding a way to tackle the bills that are still owed after the insurance has finished paying on a large medical bill can be a real challenge, but there are some resources that are available. And while there are some parents and grandparents who want to leave their money to their surviving children nd grandchildren, a will can help make sure that these inheritance funds are handled the best way possible.
Consider some of these other facts and figures about the many times when debt becomes a significant problem not only for businesses who are waiting to receive payments, but also consumers who find themselves facing extremes amounts of debt:
- Debt collection agencies recovered nearly $78.5 billion in total debt in the year 2016 alone.
- Accoring to information gathered in a 2017 survey, as many as 70 million Americans had a debt collection or were contacted about a debt in collection in the previous year.
- The average amount of a medical bill in collections in the U.S. is $579.
- 16.5% of those with outstanding medical bills took longer than a year to pay off their debt.
- Government related debt makes up 16% of all debt collected by agencies in the U.S.
- There were a total of 8,513 debt collection agencies in the U.S. in 2017. All working to remedy problems.
In a time of skyrocketing health care costs, as many as 20% of Americans have difficulty paying their medical bills, even among those with health insurance. Sometimes as many as 29% of debt collected by agencies is aged 90 days or less. Working with these creditors early in the process can help consumers manage these problems early in the process before the late charge and fees further complicate the issue. As an indicator of how serious these problems can be, consumer debt in the U.S. rose 3.3%, reaching $3.95 trillion, in September of 2018.
