How old do my accounts need to be to qualify for debt settlement?

Your accounts do not need to be old, or “aged,” in order for you to enter a debt settlement program. However, it is unlikely that a creditor will agree to a settlement until the debt is aged. So even if a client’s debts are current when starting the program, he or she stops paying on those accounts, putting funds in their settlement trust account instead. Six months down the road those debts will have aged, at which point the creditors will be more open to settling the debt at a reduced amount – and the client will have accumulated some funds with which to negotiate.