husband is being sued by creditors, please help, lots of questions?
A lady dropped off some papers in person today, from a law firm, stating he needs to appear in court Oct 17th. The total came to a little over 1600$, he has 2 other cards with about this much on each (but neither has filed a complaint). Problem is, we are barely making it as it is, we are even on food stamps right now. We have 3 children, and I don’t work right now, I plan to go back to school. Also, he was only 17 when he got the card, he lied on the application, will that have an effect? Should he file for bankruptcy? Can they attach his wages?
Posted May 31st, 2010 in When To File Bankruptcy. Tagged: bankruptcy, cards, complaint problem, food stamps, wages.
Forget about filing bankruptcy, too costly and too late for that now.
As to wage garnishment, that would all depend upon where you live. Some states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Pennsylvania prohibit this. Others either have their own limitations or follow federal guidelines (25% of NET income). In Florida the wages of a person who provides more than half the support for a child or other dependent are exempt from garnishment altogether (though this exemption is subject to waiver).
So as you can see, you may pay nothing or just a little. So do not get stressed out. Check your states laws at the following web site:
http://www.bcsalliance.com/statute_of_limitations_on_debt.html
The fact that he was only 17 at the time, does make the contract null and void, but it also may make him libel for criminal charges if they can prove the fact that he falsified the application. So as the saying goes, do not poke a sleeping dog.
Check with your local legal aid to see if they can be of any help. If you meet the income guidelines, they can provide free legal assistance.
Hope this answer is of help to you
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 amLEGAL DISCLAIMER: The answer provided here is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended nor presumed to be legal counsel or professional legal advice
If you are looking at a lawsuit for unsecured debt you are not in as big of trouble as you think. Unsecured debt is called unsecured because there is nothing of tangible value open to secure the debt like a house or car. This kind of scenario will become more common as credit suppliers see a higher Non Performing rate. You need to go to court and answer the lawsuit and make arrangements to have your debt settled. You cannot go to jail over this, there is no such thing as debters prison in the US.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 amI think the best thing to do right now is first of do not file for bankruptcy over $1,600 . Ask legal advice even if it just means calling someone you think could explain the process to you best. Dont be afraid to ask for help from people in the community with advice you would be surprised who will give you help.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 amThat is way too small a debt for bankruptcy. If they get a court judgment, they will probably garnish his wages.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 amSince he lied on his application, that is fraud-which he could be arrested for. You could still work part-time nights until you are able to go back to school, although I don’t see how it would be possible when your relying on food stamps. You need to increase the income first.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 amForget filing for BK….the cost of that alone would be $1,500 to $2,000
Be sure to show up on the court date…if you don’t, they’ll get a default judgment against you. This could lead to wage garnishment. If you at least show up you can plead your case and get a much better repayment deal than if you fail to show up….If you’re a "no show," they can garnish wages at up to 25%.
I’m frankly concerned about the issue of his lying about his age on the application. This may not come up in court unless you specifically bring it up yourself (DON’T!).
Try to find the money to seek legal counsel on these issues….you need it. Be wary of any free legal advise you get on the Internet….it may be blatantly incorrect. Contact your local Red Cross for a referral to free legal aide in your area. They "may" be able to assist.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 amyou need to forget about school if you can’t even pay all your bills – you need to get a job – even if it’s evenings/weekends while your husband watches the kids. How old is he now with 3 kids?
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 amOuch, bad situation. That must be a touchy credit card because I have about 4 or 5 that I just stopped paying because I couldn’t pay the payments any more. I used all of my cards to pay for utilities and food and rent because my wife and I were in a similar situation as you.
I do know that, depending on the state, there is a statute of limitations for the time period that a debtor can collect their money. First thing I would do is check when the last time was that you did anything with the card, and then check the statute of limitations for your state and the state he opened the card in. The card can be held for either one and most companies take the one with the biggest time span. Typically the most is about 10 years. If the credit card was more than 10 years old and it had been 10 years since he last made a payment, guess what, you don’t owe anything. http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html
If you are still within that time period, meaning they can take you to court, you have other options.
1) Contact the card issuer or debt collector and see if they are willing to settle the account. Most of the time, when a company realizes they probably won’t get their full amount from you, they will settle for anywhere from 25%-60% off of the original debt. Unfortunately, this requires you to pay the settled debt in whole between 30 and 90 days, but it does get rid of your debt immediately.
2) Contact the card issuer or debt collector and see if you can make a payment arrangement. Like the above mention of a settlement, most card companies don’t want to go to court because the court cost is not usually worth the problem.
3) Most lawyers won’t tell you this, but as long as you make an effort to make the payments, even it it is $10 a month, the credit card company CANNOT take you to court. It’s too late now because you only have a little over a week, but if you try one of the other options, and get in trouble, if you just send them something they can’t sue you because you are trying to pay.
4) If you can’t do either of the others, have him go to court. The court will only set up a payment arrangement for him that he will be required to follow. They don’t typically make you pay something that will demolish your household budget, just squeeze it a little more. Also, he may want to bring up the fact that he was only 17. I don’t think that excuses the debt, since he lied on his application and the company should have caught that, but it may help in reducing his liability. He would be going to small claims court anyway(typically any claim under $5000)
5) Finally, don’t declare bankruptcy. The fact that the debt has gotten that far that they will take you to court means that it’s already a negative on your credit report. That will stay on your report regardless of what you do for the next 7 years, so why make your credit look worse with a bankruptcy. With the changing of the bankruptcy laws, you are going to have to pay the debt off anyway and the bankruptcy is going to be a big black mark on your credit. Bankruptcy procedures won’t happen before the court date and you will have to go to court anyway. In addition, you will have to pay a bankruptcy lawyer as well.
6) It it is a debt collector taking you to court, you have a little more leeway. When your cards go to collections, that means the CC company has already gotten a tax write off on your debt and typically the debt collectors buy the account from the CC company at a fraction of the debt and try to re coop as much of the money as possible. Going to court is usually a scare tactic, because debt collectors do a lot of shady things to try and get you to pay. Are the court papers legitimate? I’d check that.
Remember, don’t be intimidated or embarrassed by debt collectors or credit card companies because they don’t know you. Having credit card debt doesn’t make you a bad person and all they are trying to do is bully and scare you into paying off the debt that, once it has gone to collections, has already been written off. Most people (on here and other forums) want to scold you for what you did instead of give you a viable option because they don’t care about you or your situation, they just want to judge you. They are never going to understand. It has taken me three years to learn all of this stuff. Do any of the suggestions I suggested and I think you will be fine. I hope I could hope. Good Luck to you.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:01 am