summons for credit debt

[joemuni]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? new jersey
I was served summons today for credit card debt, by lawyer
hired by credit card bank. I have 20 days to answer.
I am filing BK as soon as I decide on which lawyer to hire.
Do I need to do anything, or will the lawyer take care of
this. I'm worried about the time restriction of 20 days !

 

[Ladynred]

Answer the summons and find yourself a lawyer ASAP! The lawyer can stop any court proceedings.

 

[nailtech]

great advice Ladynred,.... and also,... if you can not find a lawyer in the days to come, you should be allowed at least one postponement date, that might buy you maybe another week or so(but wait until the last minute to get it postponed to buy you time).....

I got served a few days before we filed.. Luckily we had paperwork in place before hand.... I just called the court(on the last day to answer) that was handling it and told them what was happening and gave them the case number and lawyers name and number and they dropped it... you need to work fast, the paperwork is not so easy and needs a lot of time to fill out and sometimes corrections over corrections.... our lawyer told us not to worry about the summons, but I knew (by reading on here) that if they got a default judgment it would cost me more in the long run to get it cleared after the fact.....

Call the court(Anonymously) that is handling it, ask them the last date to answer it, and how long you will get if you postpone it and how much notice you have to give to get a postponement... it should all be calculated in business days.

 

[joemuni]

Thanks to Ladynred, and nailtech:
Good advice!
I should file Answer within 20 days saying I'm going to file BK.
That should stop default judgemnt, and give plenty of time for
filing of BK.
But I hope to ask lawyer to be sure.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Thanks to Ladynred, and nailtech:
Good advice!
I should file Answer within 20 days saying I'm going to file BK.
That should stop default judgemnt, and give plenty of time for
filing of BK.
But I hope to ask lawyer to be sure.

My response:

Well, I'm glad Joe that you "hope to ask a lawyer to be sure" because I think you're misunderstanding the previous answers.

Merely saying that you're "going to file BK" does nothing for you. That statement is not an "Answer" to the Complaint, nor an "Affirmative Defense" to the allegations. If you were to just say, "I'm going to file BK", the Plaintiff could have your "Answer" stricken, and take your default.

Yes, I agree, you had better move fast and see an attorney. Your clock is ticking fast.

IAAL

 

[CaliCat]

Of if you don't take IAAL's advice, say "I am IN THE PROCESS of filing for bankruptcy." That sounds like you ARE doing something, rather than just planning to.

 

[Ladynred]

Its still NOT a valid answer to the summons. He MUST answer it as requested within the time limit. If he files before he gets to that date, then his lawyer can take over.

 

[nailtech]

as I stated, my paper work was done before I got the summons. by the time I had to answer the summons I had a court date two day later to be able to tell a judge what the process was that was going to happen.. I suggested postponement to buy you time to get to that point. only..... you do need to find a lawyer ASAP..... sometimes the paper work is time consuming.... which may absorb your summons time........ work as fast as possible on this.....