“Dear Steve,
My wife went into a program with DebtWave that was turned over to Johnson Law, but the legal papers keep coming. My income is has diminished as I have taken a very low paying job to survive.
If she cannot continue these very large payments, as my low paying job will soon end, and has to declare bankruptcy, will they go after our home? Her debts are not joint, in her name only. We live in California if it matters. My credit rating is still good.
Gary”
Dear Gary,
It sounds like what DebtWave did was to sell you into a debt settlement program with Johnson Law, either out of Nevada or Florida.
Being in a debt settlement program does not a thing to prevent you from being sued, and losing the suit. Bottom line, you are sending money to either DebtWave or Johnson Law instead of your creditors probably.
I would seriously encourage you to consider not making one more payment to either DebtWave or Johnson Law and instead click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney. The bankruptcy page actually lists a couple of California bankruptcy attorneys you might want to contact.
The reason I suggest not wasting one more penny on the current solution is that without an expectation you will have future income there is no chance of you being able to settle debts at all.
Besides, the bankruptcy would terminate the lawsuit and discharge your debt. You can protect your home with bankruptcy and if the debt is in her name alone only she would need to go bankrupt.

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Tmortgan,
What effect does enrolling with debtwave have on your credit score and the ability to obtain a mortgage or car loan?
Most Non-Profit Credit Counseling Company, only charge maximum $75 setup which can also be waived if you can prove hardship and depending on your state a small monthly maintenance fee average $15- $45. Did you go directly to DebtWave or was it one of their marketing companies where you had to give up your whole first payment which is disguised as a retainer fee?
Debtwave has been an excellent service for me. I started with over 140,000 in debt and am down to below 90,000. They always answer the phone, e-mail me back or call me proactively if there’s a question. Super courteous, professional and honest. Seriously.
I’m a smart guy and I tried for nearly two years to negotiate directly with my creditors to reduce rates. I did NOT want to go to a counseling agency. I wish I had just started with them back then, because I would be almost done by now. Instead I paid over $60,000 more in interest than I had to.
Ultimately, a commercial lender I know was the one who referred me to them because he had a number of clients who had success with them.
I did have some concerns, initially, with the Sales Rep who was a little pushy. Do what I did – tell them to back off. If it’s a good idea today, then it’s a good idea in two weeks or a month. After I thought about it a while (and saw that I would recoup my upfront fee in two month’s of interest savings) I decided to go ahead.
A couple of hints if you are starting one of these programs (which you should)
1.) If you have a lot of accounts, start with one or two. First, the set-up fee is based on your initial monthly payments. You can come back later and add more.
2.) If you are interested in protecting your credit, you should make double payments (send one payment to the creditor yourself, on top of the one Debtwave is sending). Sometimes creditors won’t post a payment until a plan has been accepted.
Past due payments during the proposal period can also cause your proposal to be rejected, or come back with different numbers than what were originally proposed.
It’s been a totally positive experience for me, and I have gotten other people involved with Debt Management Programs since. I’m ending my “wage slaveryâ€, so I’m a convert.
It appears that people who have problems with counseling agencies are in denial about the real problem, and just want someone to blame for their problem. People with problems with their CCCS may also be confused with another Johnson Law Group, which is definitely a scam operation and in the news a bit, too. The Florida and Nevada ones – stay clear. San Diego – good to go – RATED A from BBB.
You don’t get something for free and the fees these companies charge are WELL WORTH the service you receive.
Feel free to e-mail me if you want to discuss these guys or credit services in general.
Debtwave has been an excellent service for me. I started with over 140,000 in debt and am down to below 90,000. They always answer the phone, e-mail me back or call me proactively if there’s a question. Super courteous, professional and honest. Seriously.
I’m a smart guy and I tried for nearly two years to negotiate directly with my creditors to reduce rates. I did NOT want to go to a counseling agency. I wish I had just started with them back then, because I would be almost done by now. Instead I paid over $60,000 more in interest than I had to.
Ultimately, a commercial lender I know was the one who referred me to them because he had a number of clients who had success with them.
I did have some concerns, initially, with the Sales Rep who was a little pushy. Do what I did – tell them to back off. If it’s a good idea today, then it’s a good idea in two weeks or a month. After I thought about it a while (and saw that I would recoup my upfront fee in two month’s of interest savings) I decided to go ahead.
A couple of hints if you are starting one of these programs (which you should)
1.) If you have a lot of accounts, start with one or two. First, the set-up fee is based on your initial monthly payments. You can come back later and add more.
2.) If you are interested in protecting your credit, you should make double payments (send one payment to the creditor yourself, on top of the one Debtwave is sending). Sometimes creditors won’t post a payment until a plan has been accepted.
Past due payments during the proposal period can also cause your proposal to be rejected, or come back with different numbers than what were originally proposed.
It’s been a totally positive experience for me, and I have gotten other people involved with Debt Management Programs since. I’m ending my “wage slavery”, so I’m a convert.
It appears that people who have problems with counseling agencies are in denial about the real problem, and just want someone to blame for their problem. People with problems with their CCCS may also be confused with another Johnson Law Group, which is definitely a scam operation and in the news a bit, too. The Florida and Nevada ones – stay clear. San Diego – good to go – RATED A from BBB.
You don’t get something for free and the fees these companies charge are WELL WORTH the service you receive.
Feel free to e-mail me if you want to discuss these guys or credit services in general.
Most Non-Profit Credit Counseling Company, only charge maximum $75 setup which can also be waived if you can prove hardship and depending on your state a small monthly maintenance fee average $15- $45. Did you go directly to DebtWave or was it one of their marketing companies where you had to give up your whole first payment which is disguised as a retainer fee?
Tmortgan,
What effect does enrolling with debtwave have on your credit score and the ability to obtain a mortgage or car loan?
No, I meant that with the 1300 a month payment to the court, she cannot contribute at all to living expenses. It’s all on me. If she could file a complete bankruptcy, we could manage the house, as she could contribute.
Gary,
A property transfer prior to bankruptcy is going to create a problem. Talk to your bankruptcy attorney about this.
Steve
She can take a total bankruptcy if she is not associated with any property. Without the 1300 a month payment the house would be no problem, even If I find a very low paying job.
Gary,
Are you under the impression that you’d find some way to keep the house without making the required $1,300 mortgage payment? Your name or her name, someone needs to make the payment.
Steve
In California, she signs off the house leaving it in my name only.
Gary,
But who can afford to continue to pay for the house?
Steve
Local attorny says a Chapter 7 is the way to go so we will not loose the house. This leaves the wife with $1300 a month payments for 10 years??? My job will end in 30 days or less. Do we have to get divorced [and stay together] to free this to protect our home?? With these payments and me unemployed, the house will be foreclosed.
Gary,
If you don’t think you can afford the house together then maybe you need to consider giving the house back to the bank and including that debt in your bankruptcy. I’m not sure how getting divorced would help you to make the house payment.
Steve
So much for Johnson Law. Garnishment papers came yesterday.
Gary,
Click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney to put an end to this mess.
Steve