What will happen if a creditor takes me to court? 22 Answers as of October 05, 2011

You probably have a few more options than you think. 1. You most likely were served with a civil summons-this means a creditor is suing you. You can choose to respond but you probably only have 30 days to file a written answer with the court. Check the paperwork to confirm the deadline for filing a response. Then call or visit the courthouse's self help center they can assist you in filing the answer and filling out a claim of exemption to protect your assets. If you respond by generally denying everything, this means you are putting the creditor to their burden to prove the facts of their case. This also buys you a bit of time so you can figure out what to do. 2. You should go consult with a bankruptcy attorney. We all offer free consultations. If you owe other debt, a bankruptcy might help you to eliminate all the debt and you won't even have to file a response, the bankruptcy will stop the lawsuit. 3. You can choose to do nothing. Some people are what we call judgment proof. This means even if the creditor were to get a judgment against you, they can't collect. This would only apply if you had a low amount of assets, no job and no money. You said you are low income this probably means you have a job so if you do have a job & the creditor wins at trial or by default the creditor can garnish up to 25% of your pay check each pay period until the debt is paid in full. If you own property they could record a lien against it or if you have bank accounts they could get levied.

Assuming that you don't have any defense, other than that you are low income and can't afford to pay the bills, the company will get a judgment against you. They can then seek a garnishment or try and see if you have money in the bank or anything else they can take in order to get paid off. You might check with Legal Services and see if you qualify for them to file a bankruptcy at little or no cost to you to take care of this. Good Luck!

"Invited" I like that. Did they invite you with a Summons and Complaint? If the creditor served you with a Summons and Complaint you have a limited time to reply with an Answer. That means filing a document with the court showing why you do not owe the debt. There is a filing fee for filing an answer, typically $80-100. Since you probably do owe the debt there is not much point in filing an Answer, Creditor will get a judgment, either by default or after a trial. Then creditor will turn that into a garnishment order and your paycheck will be garnished 25% of your net. If your only income is from Social Security or pension you are "judgment-proof" because those cannot be garnished. Alternative is to file a BK under Ch 7.

The creditor will seek to get a judgment entered in court. Once they have that, they can garnish your wages, garnish your bank account and/or put a lien on your property.If necessary, a bankruptcy filing will put a stop to any of these actions.

If you deny the debt, or anything about it, you should file a timely "Answer" with the court. If a judgment is rendered against you, it will enable the creditor to pursue non-exempt property you own, bank accounts and partial wages to satisfy the judgment.

Taking you to court usually means that they file a complaint and try to obtain a judgment resulting in a determination that you either owe or don't owe the debt. Not being able to pay a debt is not a defense to owing it. If the court finds that you owe the debt, you may be garnished, etc. if you fail to pay it. File a bankruptcy if you cannot pay.

You have a legal emergency. You need a lawyer. You were not invited. You were ordered. Unless you act within 30 days you face years of bad consequences. See a lawyer. There may be ways (such as bankruptcy) to get rid of the debts.

You may want to consider filing for bankruptcy to remove liability for your debt.

You have been sued by your creditor for non payment and breach of the repayment contract. They will eventually obtain a judgment against you. The judgment allows them to do a variety of evil things such as garnish your wages, levy on your bank accounts, etc. Bankruptcy will discharge and erase all of this.

The creditor is trying to scare you that is their way of trying to collect the debt. Tell them you cannot pay in full and offer 50 cents on the dollar.

This is not a bankruptcy question. The Bar Association in your county is likely to have a referral service where you can get a free consultation with a lawyer to answer your questions. They usually are listed in the Yellow Pages at the beginning of the Attorney section. You may also be eligible for assistance from the Legal Aid group in your county. Call your County Bar Association for information.