How do I respond to a Credit Card debt summons for $6,000 need to respond via mail within 20 days

I am truly sorry to hear about your troubles, your story is certainly a difficult one to hear. But with that said, that has nothing to do with your debts and will not have any effect if you try to use that as a answer to the summons. That information would be most useful to you when they are determining how much money you'll have to pay per month. When it comes to credit card debt, unless you can prove that you never purchased any of the items that were used to raise the amount of your balance to $6000, you have no defense, and your personal hardships have absolutely no bearing on the case itself. If the opposing attorney finds that you have money or income, they will sue you or garnish your wages. It seems in the situation that you have before you, that filing bankruptcy seems like a very good solution to your issues. I suggest you find a qualified and experienced bankruptcy attorney and go over your entire case with them. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147