Payments to Creditors

Unfortunately, the debtor--the person owing the money--can't determine what they will pay creditors; the debtor has to pay whatever amount is in, or can be determined by, the agreement. For example, with car or home loans, you'd have to make the regular monthly payment; with credit cards, you have to pay the minimum amount each month.

The creditor can require you to pay the full amount determined by the loan and its agreement, and they do not have to accept a lesser payment. Or, more accurately, they can cash the lesser payment and still come after you for the rest of the money--making a partial payment does not require them to stop collections efforts.

That doesn't mean that you can't negotiate a lower payment. Believe it or not, most creditors will be reasonable--if they can't get $1,000 a month from you but they can get $600, they'll usually agree to adjust the payment. However, it has to be done with their agreement. Don't wait until they're hounding you; go to them ahead of time, hat in hand (so to speak) with all your financial info (income, debts, assets) and show them that you can't pay $X, but you could pay $Y. Work out a payment schedule with you. There's no guarantee they'll go for it, but coming to them voluntarily to work matters out ahead of time is your best bet.