How do I respond to a summons for bad credit card debt?

This forum is limited to answering bankruptcy questions. You would stop this creditor's attempt to collect this debt by filing bankruptcy. Many bankruptcy attorneys provide free consultations. Find one and discuss your situation. Appear in court on the 20th as your creditor will get a default judgment against you if you do not appear. Your bankruptcy will wipe out the judgment when you file.

There is a statute of limitations of 4 years. This is a defense that you can raise in the hearing. If you lose the case you can still file bankruptcy and include the judgment. If you cannot afford an attorney there are clinics in some areas to help. You can file your own bankruptcy, however, have an attorney review the papers before filing them.

You need to speak to an attorney as soon as possible. It is fair to assume that you will have to pay some money to get out of debt (either to the creditor or to your attorney).

You have two problems, one short term and the other long term. You asked about both. The short term problem is that you have small claims court in a couple of days. Call the clerk of the court. Tell the clerk that you did not receive the notice until a few days ago and that you are ill and cannot travel. Ask for the case to be put over for about 60 days. If they say "no", then don't sweat it. Here is why. Even after there is a court judgment against you, there is nothing they can do. No-one can touch your disability. Ever. Until or unless you go back to work or win the Lotto or inherit a large sum, not even a judgment creditor can take anything from you. And think about it. They don't know where you are. If they did, they would have sent the papers to your correct address. They know nothing about you. Sure, they can get a judgment and, as my mother used to say, that and a token will get you on the subway. It sounds as though you should file bankruptcy, for all the reasons you said. But you need not be in a rush. Most bankruptcy attorneys will give you a consultation for free. You already know you need to file. You need to know the cost and you can figure out how long it will take you to set that much aside. If the bankruptcy attorney doesn't want to do anything until he is paid in full, not even give you advice on how to deal with the leaches and vampires who work for the collections business, then go chat with another one. The key to remember is that there is nothing they can take from you now. You should file, but you should not panic. If you start to panic, remember there is nothing they can take from you now.

Be sure to go to court on June 20th. Tell the judge why you cannot pay now, and that you are on medical leave. This will definitely help. It is never as bad when you go and tell your side. Go and good luck.

You need to file bankruptcy to get rid of all of the credit card and medical bill debt. It would be best if you went to the hearing in the small claims court. Your defense is that there is a 5 year statute of limitations here in Florida and it has been more than five years since you defaulted. If that does not work you can rest assured that there is a way to get judgments against you wiped off the slate. The filing fee for bankruptcy is $306, and a reasonable attorneys fee is around $1200. Do not think that a bankruptcy petition preparer can do anything near what an experienced attorney can do. They charge a lot less but they cannot legally give you any legal advice whatsoever. So, save up to hire a bankruptcy attorney and find one in your area who will take payments. The real question to you is whether it is worth approximately $1500 to get out of $insert total amount you owe here. The answer is always yes. You will undoubtedly qualify to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy because you will be making less than $40,000 per year on disability. You can go to my website and download a pamphlet I have written about Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. I hope this has helped you.

It is best if you can file bankruptcy prior to the hearing date on the 20th. This will stop the proceedings on the 20th. Prior to filing bankruptcy, you will need to take a credit counseling course from an approved agency. Some attorneys will reduce their fee based on the client's income.

You should file for bankruptcy immediately if there is no hope that your situation will change. Even if you don't appear in court and the bank wins the lawsuit, you can still file for bankruptcy protection later on.