I'm being taking to civil court by a creditor who I owe almost $2000 which I can't pay. What are my options? I don't have a car, house, or a...

Question

I'm being taking to civil court by a creditor who I owe almost $2000 which I can't pay. What are my options? I don't have a car, house, or a job. I thought of filing bankruptcy but nothing I've read fits my situation. Help!

Answer

For $2000? It will cost that much to file bankruptcy. If you do not have assets and you watch your bank account, then it will be very difficult for the creditor to collect.

You can ignore the lawsuit papers (assuming you have no valid defenses - only a lawyer would know for sure after reviewing the papers and speaking to you). To collect on a judgment, the creditor must wait 30 days. Then they have to send you papers called a "notice of right to have exemptions designated" and "motion to claim exempt property." DO NOT ignore these papers. They are very important. You have 20 days after you receive the papers to fill them out and file with the court. I can assist you for a reasonable fee. The main exemptions for you would be $5000 for personal property and $5000 for a "wild card" that you can use on anything. Since you have no house and car then you would need to pay attention to the exemptions for these things. You want to make sure that you protect your bank account under the wildcard exemption.

If you get these papers and see me or another attorney and properly protect your assets, then it will be very hard for the creditor to collect from you. Someday, if your situation then improves, you can always settle the judgment for less than the full balance. So you need not file bankruptcy over something like this.

Please contact me at [email protected]/* */ if I can be of further help.

Answer

You have three options: Ignore the summons and allow judgment to be taken. The first answer explores that option well. You could enter an appearance and go to trial. The creditor must prove the case. The creditor may not want to spend what it takes to do that. A third plan would be to contact the creditor and negotiate a settlement. Since it cost to take judgement with no certain collection available, the creditor should be willing to take a settlement. If nothing else payments. The best settlement is one that you can afford and which does not result in the judgement going on your credit history. You can sweeten the deal by giving collateral and the creditor may cooperate. You should consider consulting a bankruptcy attorney because he/she will look at your entire financial circumstance and advise what your bankruptcy and other options and will contact the creditor to discuss any settlement that might be had. You have a much stronger negotiating position represented by counsel, especially a bankruptcy lawyer (the major creditors know who they are and he/she can drop the B word on them if it is an option being considered). If you elect to contest the suit, be mindful of the time deadlines.