What is my recourse regarding a summons to attend court for debt not paid? 7 Answers as of February 01, 2012

You can see a lawyer about bankruptcy. If they have a judgement and know where you work, they can garnish up to 25% of your wages.

He will be able to garnish your wages and bank account. However, you might want to look into filing bankruptcy. This would discharge that debt and allow you to get a fresh start.

I assume you know that bankruptcy will wipe this debt out. If you do not want to file bankruptcy then the creditor will eventually get a judgment for the sums owed and will probably garnish your wages. No amount of sob story to the judge will help. Your only defense to this type of lawsuit is that you do not owe the money. Not having any money is irrelevant.

Filing a bankruptcy may stay the action and discharge the underlying debt, but it would depend on a variety of factors. You should seek counsel from a licensed attorney immediately.

You can file for bankruptcy in order for you not to pay the debt. Or, also you can ask the court to set an amount that you can pay.

The choices are: Have your wages garnished at 25% of your income and you can then ask the court to reduce the percentage taken from your wages to whatever percentage the court thinks you can afford to pay (maybe nothing) or file a bankruptcy case to discharge all of your debts. If you have any money in the bank then it can be taken (levied) and if you own any real estate then the creditor can put a lien on the property unless you pay or file a bankruptcy case and you will have to pay the debt when you sell or refinance the property. These are the likely things that will happen if you don't pay the debt. Of course, you can negotiate the amount owed and pay less if you can come up with a substantial amount big enough so that creditor will accept it and forget the rest.

If they get a judgment, they can garnish your wages or levy on your assets. As to garnishment, if your income is not enough to pay your basic expenses if they garnish it, you have to file a timely claim of exemption. Otherwise, you can file a bankruptcy case to discharge the debt altogether; however, you need to figure out if the amount of your income over the last 6 months and the size of your family is such that you qualify for a Chapter 7 case. If not, then you may need to file a different chapter, which may require you to pay back some portion of what you owe, though not necessarily all of what you owe for example, if after you pay your basic living expenses you only have $100 leftover every month, in exchange for $100 per month for 36 to 60 months, you may discharge up to $360,000. You should consult an expert bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible to assess your situation and options. The passage of time may change your options.