What do you do if you get sued for a credit card or medical debt?
Many people freak out if a process server comes to their door to hand them a summons and complaint (lawsuit). There is no need to freak out. The end result of a lawsuit is a final judgment. That is just another way of saying you owe the same money you owed before the lawsuit. It only lets the creditor try to collect on the judgment. It takes much longer to obtain a judgment if you do not respond to the lawsuit than if you do not. There is rarely a good defense to these lawsuits. If you do have defenses, you should defend the case because once a judgment is entered, any defenses you may have had no longer matter. But in most cases, there are no valid defenses. If you respond to the lawsuit, a hearing will be had, and a judgment will be entered. If you don’t respond, the creditors lawyer will have to file several affidavits showing that you are not in the military, and that they are entitled to attorney fees and costs. That takes time. Once the judgment is finally entered, it’s unlikely that you will be getting calls from anyone like before the lawsuit was filed. You may receive a request for discovery to see what assets you have that the law firm that sued you can take. You need to be prepared once you get sued. Bankruptcy consultations in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale are generally free. Once you start getting calls from your creditors to collect money that you owe them is the time to see a bankruptcy lawyer in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. Don’t wait until your wages are being garnished or your bank account has been frozen to speak to a bankruptcy lawyer in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. By then, it may be too late. It’s never good to rush when filing a bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. There is a lot of preparation necessary prior to filing for bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. You want to be financially prepared to file the case.
There are many exemptions for your assets in Florida. Any good bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale will be able to tell you based on what assets you have, what assets are exempt from being taken from creditors. If you file for bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, you are allowed to use these exemptions and keep the assets that the Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 trustee can’t administer. The difference between filing bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and claiming your exemptions in state court, is that in the state court, the creditor has already frozen your assets and then you get a chance to go to court to claim that those assets are exempt. In bankruptcy courts in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, you keep your assets until the Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee makes a determination that those assets are not exempt. When filing a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, you have much more control of what you own than if you are left alone in state court proceedings. You may be able to get the assets back after they are frozen, but people living paycheck to paycheck will have to wait to get their wages back if they are garnished. You will have to wait until a court says the money in your bank account are exempt before you get that money unfrozen. If your wages are frozen, you may not be able to pay bills, and if your bank account is frozen, any checks that you have written will bounce. In bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, none of this happens. You have control of your money when you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. Don’t let the creditors be the ones on the offense.
As stated above, get a free consultation from a qualified and experienced bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. You must do this as soon as you think you might be in financial trouble. If you don’t, thing can always get worse. Get your options explained to you. Knowledge is a very powerful tool. Get it and use it to your advantage. Call a qualified and experienced bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale today to prevent even more financial hardship.
