Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Re: debt collection

If you file bankruptcy, you could do a motion to avoid lien and potentially get your money back, but you would have to file quickly. However, if the debt is small you may just want to pay it.

Re: debt collection

Your answer depends a lot upon the amount of the debt, when the lawsuit was filed and a judgment obtained, and your personal financial situation. First, if the judgment was recently entered, and you want to spend the time and money fighting this, you may be able to set-aside the judgment and attempt to defend the lawsuit in principle. That's a costly procedure, can only be done within a very short time frame after the judgment is entered, and finally - do you have a valid defense to the collection of the debt? If the answer to the later question is no, then there's not much point going back and trying to fight the lawsuit. Next, if you can afford to do so, you would clearly be better off paying the debt - either in full, or through some agreement with the debt collector - than to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will wipe out your credit, and make it difficult to obtain credit in the future. That being said, if your financial situation is precarious to begin with and you have a lot of debt - more than you can afford to pay, then you should consult with a bankruptcy attorney and review your options.

*Due to the limitations of the LawGuru Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.