Post-summary judgment: what next? HELLLLP!!!

[srcitizen100]

What is the name of your state? FLORIDA.

I have a hearing set for Summary Judgement for more than $15,000 in a few days on a credit card debt. I plan to file for bankruptcy due to this debt and several others. I had loss of income brought on by several things including the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes and declining amounts of work. I am a freelancer with no contracts and no wage. My income from my freelance work is irregular and changes from month to month depending on what jobs I can find to do. I am paying the mortgage on a home which is homesteaded under Florida law outside of a municipality. The contents of the home are 25 years old (furniture etc.) and appliances are older than that. My car is worth less than I owe. My house is full of mold and needs repair due to water leaks from the hurricanes. I stay in a 22 yr old RV outside my house which can't be driven although it is registered and insured (needs repairs, roof leaks, propane leaks, engine repairs needed; value about $1500, if that).

I am 64 and get social security and a very tiny pension (less than $250) which I need to make ends barely meet. I did everything I could to make my credit card payments including using up my IRA. When I had no more money I stopped paying because there was nothing else I could do.

I have not been able to afford to get my taxes done (I did not file for a couple of years) or finish paying to file for bankruptcy.

I am assuming this credit card company will get its judgment even though I will show up and say whatever I can. I have been told that my arguments are not defenses and will make no difference.

Whenever I ask questions about what will happen next I get different answers. I have been told that creditors can not freeze my bank account or take money out of it immediately after a judgment in Florida, they have to wait 30 days. Is this true?

I asked at the court's civil department what will happen next and was told they would immediately place a lien against my house. I asked if they could get into my bank account and take the money I need to pay my bills and buy food, and one person said yes, one said they have to wait 30 days, one said the judge would decide, and one said the credit card company first has to have me fill out a form telling them everything I have, and that it's up to the judge when I have to return the form to the company, and that only after that can the credit card company take any money.

The only money I have in there right now is from my social security and pension, and that will soon be gone. The next money will be from work I would do.

I am floored that there is no pamphlet or other consumer instruction information for people like me that would answer the most basic of questions we have about the judgment process itself, the steps we should take, the options we have available, etc.

I don't know where to get my questions answered. Every time I think I found someone, then they tell me something different from what the last one said.

I tried Legal Aid and first they said no one there knows anything about judgments. Then they said I don't have a case. Then when I asked whether the company might try to take my money, they said yes, but they don't know what the timetable is.

I always thought that when good people get into trouble they never anticipated and did not do it on purpose, they could get help and information they can rely on. But I am finding out it isn't true.

Please, can someone tell me what to expect and the timetable for any actions the company might take after summary judgment? I want to know if I am going to scramble to beat some deadline to file bankruptcy so they can't keep me from paying my bills, or if I will be ok for a few months while I continue to try to make the money to do it.

Thank you for helping me.What is the name of your state?