How the information is built
Educational pages use selected public guidance from official sources. Factual claims link to the relevant authority. Preparation checklists are editorial aids, not statements that an action is legally required or will produce a particular outcome.
The wider research library is a working evidence base. A completed scoped review is not approval of every claim, jurisdiction or application. Content with unresolved material corrections is not presented as settled law.
What an estimate means
Calculators use the methods disclosed on their pages. They do not reproduce every issuer’s statement method, calculate legally compliant APR, decide protected income or tax exclusions, predict a settlement, or determine bankruptcy eligibility.
Currentness and local limits
Selected source guidance was checked on October 29, 2026. Programs, rules and pages may change. Source access is not a full historical-version or legal-application audit. Contracts, courts and state, local, tribal or territorial law may change the result.
No invented authority
We do not claim independent review, expert credentials, provider relationships, customer outcomes or current availability that have not been established. This site is not a government agency and external sources are not sponsors.
The public source shelf
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Debt validation / verification
Read source ↗Federal Trade Commission
Settlement uncertainty / risks
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Credit counseling / debt management plan
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Credit-card hardship
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consolidation comparison
Read source ↗Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Medical bill review / assistance
Read source ↗Internal Revenue Service
Tax consequences of canceled debt
Read source ↗Federal Student Aid — U.S. Department of Education
Federal student repayment calculator
Read source ↗Federal Student Aid — U.S. Department of Education
Federal student-loan default
Read source ↗U.S. Small Business Administration
Business / sba loan boundaries
Read source ↗U.S. Treasury — Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Government debt / treasury offset
Read source ↗USAGov — U.S. General Services Administration
Basic-needs assistance
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Urgent court papers
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Mortgage / secured home debt
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Calculator interest-method assumptions
Read source ↗Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Read source ↗Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Chapter 13 bankruptcy
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Auto / secured vehicle debt
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Credit-report errors
Read source ↗USAGov — U.S. General Services Administration
Medical assistance after insurance
Read source ↗Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Settlement warnings / savings uncertainty
Read source ↗Sources for this page
Selected public guidance checked October 29, 2026. Source guidance is general; laws, contracts, program terms and individual circumstances can change the result. How we use sources.