What can I do if I'm being sued for my debt? 31 Answers as of January 23, 2012

If you owe the money, the company is entitled to collect it, court costs, interest, and attorneys fees. In light of your situation, you may be able to work out a deal. You do need to attend court. You can explain your situation to the judge, and that might facilitate entering into an agreement to allow you to pay the debt over time when you have the ability to do so.

They can get a judgment against you. The judgment will be good for 10 years. If you do not pay the judgment, they can take you to court, inquire into what assets you own and ask the court to sell assets at public auction to pay off the debt. Some assets are exempt from the power of the court to attach an sell. For example, you can have a certain amount of equity in a house that is exempt (I believe the current exemption for a house is $50,000). You can have a certain amount of equity in a vehicle and other personal property. As a practical matter, most individual are considered "judgment proof" if they do not own real estate with equity exceeding $50K. By this, we mean that you cannot collect a judgment against them. If you truly owe the money, there is little to gain from resisting the case. You do not even have to appear in court. However, with some debts, the court can include attorneys fees. It may help minimize the judgment if you contact the attorney who brought the case an offer to confess judgment.

The company can sue you and obtain a judgment against you, even if you do not show up. If this is for a consumer debt or "open account" (credit account for goods or services), the judgment may be for more than you originally owed, and may include interest, attorney's fees and court costs-which can run up the amount of the debt considerably. After a judgment is obtained, it is normally recorded, and will act as a lien on any property you own in the parish where it is recorded. The creditor may execute on the judgment by seizing property you own, including money you may have in bank accounts, etc. There are certain items you may have which are exempt from seizure, depending on who is holding the debt, and whether or not you have given collateral for the debt in the form of a pledge of property such as furniture, etc. Collection action will continue until the creditor seizes enough property to pay the debt, until you make payment or settlement arrangements, until you file for bankruptcy protection, or until the creditor simply either sells your debt to another person or gets tired of trying to find your property to seize. If the person uses unfair collection techniques, such as calling you late at night or early in the morning, calling you at work after you have asked them not to, calling and harassing your family members or neighbors, you may have the right to sue them as well. If you cannot afford an attorney, there are civil legal aid services sponsored by the Legal Services Corporation all over the country. Those firms specialize in helping poor people with legal problems. You may also wish to contact your local or state Bar Association regarding volunteer lawyers who work for free or "pro bono".

If you do not dispute the amount claimed, showing up will not help much unless you have assets to protect (paycheck, bank accounts, other sources of income) , then you would want to request an installment payment plan to prevent a garnishment of your wages, bank accounts etc.

Yes you absolutely need to show up! If you fail to show up a default will automatically enter against you.

Enforcement of Judgments is governed by RCW Title 6 ( http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=6 ). You should appear at any court proceedings concerning you. One thing to keep in mind is the availability of bankruptcy as a way to discharge your debts and start over.

You should speak to the attorney and try to work it out. If not, they will enter a default judgment against you and come after you for the next 10 years or more, unless you declare bankruptcy.

If it is in Small Claims court go in and represent yourself, do not miss the hearing. And if even the court orders that you pay the bill, the Judges are pretty fair about letting you make payments on it through the court.

Send a written denial to the court and make them prove it. Don't default, which means ignore it. Fight it. Then you can maybe negotiate the debt down as the case drags out.

You should show up for court and see if you can work out a deal with them. If you don't show up, then the court will issue a judgment against you which will probably include attorney fees for the other side which will make your debt even higher. Once they have a judgment they can levy on the judgment and use the legal system to take your assets.