What should I do if I cannot pay back a judgment against me?

Consider filing a Claim of exemption to writ of garnishment on bank account.

The best option may be to negotiate the amount that you actually owe them since you do not want to file bankruptcy.They will accept a lesser amount if you will like to make one time payment to resolve the dispute. Good luck.

You should probably contact the judgment creditor and negotiate a monthly payment plan. This will stop the judgment creditor from taking further steps to enforce the judgment against you - i.e. levying your bank accounts, garnishing your wages, etc., and will avoid additional collection costs from being added to the judgment amount. The judgment, however, will continue to accrue interest at the legal rate (10% per annum in California) until paid in full. Alternatively, you may want to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the judgment creditor.

You can set up a payment plan that works with your funds. If that is not available they would have to file a judgement against you and try to garnish any wages or assets you have.

If bankruptcy is not something you want to consider then you have no options. If there is already a judgment against you then the creditor will continue to try collecting on it until fully paid by taking money from your bank account, garnishing your wages, putting a lien on any real estate you own or acquire in the future, dragging you to court for an examination of debtor under oath, taking your car and other property with value to be sold at auction, etc. The judgment is good for 10 years initially and renewable essentially forever. Therefore, try to work out a payment plan or maybe get enough money together to make a lump sum offer for less than the total owed and hope the creditor agrees to take it as payment in full. If there is already a judgment then you do not have much leverage anymore, particularly if you have a good job or real estate with substantial equity. The lender wants to be paid and fast so a lump sum payment is usually acceptable if it covers at least the original owed, costs and attorneys' fees. They might be willing to reduce or eliminate interest. The judgment will continue to grow 10% per year for interest and the costs of enforcing it will also be added. Therefore, the sooner you resolve it the better.

You should consult an attorney and have all your paperwork reviewed to see what is best for your situation and to determine the validity of the alleged debt.

You can file for bankruptcy.