All of the advice is sound. Reference to a payment plan does not include reference to the time you’d need, so it may help to understand the dynamic of SC courts.
SC courts are designed to handle cases for relatively small amounts of monetary damages with relative speed and informality. They are not designed to monitor and enforce performance of contractual obligations or agreements between litigants. Those kinds of cases can bring the parties back into court later, and SC doesn’t want that. If you understand that, you’ll see that some choices are better for you than others.
The best choice, as has been suggested, is to get a loan and settle the case before trial. (Don’t get one that costs more than 9% APR because that’s your post-judgment interest rate.)
The next best choices involve a conditional judgment. That’s how courts refer to payment plans. Because SC doesn’t like to monitor performance, if you ask for a payment plan and the claimant agrees or the court decides that it’s appropriate, it will enter judgment against you and order it to be paid over time. The court is finished with the case and, if you default on a payment, the claimant can immediately enforce the remaining balance without court intervention. You don’t want a judgment. It will be for more than the principal owed and will hurt your credit, because it becomes a public record and can remain a public record long after you’ve paid the sum due.
If, by payment plan, you mean that you could pay the amount owed in 30-45 days, you could ask the claimant to agree to a conditional judgment and a continuance. The court announces the judgment that will automatically enter in 45 days if the case is not dismissed before. You have an extra 45 days to pay the claimant and, if you do, she dismisses the case. You pay principal owed and never have a judgment. Next best thing to never going to court, but you’ll need the claimant’s agreement. Incentives? A large partial payment now would help. Also the fact that she is paid voluntarily, rather than having to enforce a judgment. If you need more than 30-45 days, it’s not likely that the court would go for it, even if she will.
