Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Connecticut

Re: $9,000 Credit Card Lawsuit

#1 The court will, in the absence of convincing proof of your ability to pay more, order you to pay $35.00 per week. If you make those payments (and you can usually reach an agreement with the attorney's office to pay $70 biweekly or $150/monthly, because it simplifies the bookkeeping), they CANNOT garnish your wages, attach your bank account, repo your car, or do anything else to interfere with your daily life.

#2 If you own your home, they can place a lien on it, which means that you may be required to pay off the judgment when you sell it or refinance your mortgage (although the amount might be negotiable, even then).

#3 If you file bankruptcy, under state law you can exempt up to $75,000 EQUITY in your interest in your home (i.e., if you are married your wife also gets a $75K exemption), which should pretty much blow this creditor away.

#4 VERY IMPORTANT: You mention being paid under FMLA, which I take to mean Family Medical Leave Act. You should know that certain kinds of disability-based and retirement-based income is EXEMPT from execution to satisfy debts. This is a full-time state law, not a bankruptcy law. I just DON'T KNOW whether FMLA pay continuation for personal disability qualifies for the exemption, but it might. This would mean they could NEVER attach your salary, even if you didn't make the $35/wk payments. YOU NEED TO CONSULT A CONSUMER LAW/DISABILITY LAW SPECIALIST FOR THIS QUESTION. I suggest you contact the Waterbury Bar Association or the New Haven or Litchfield County Bar Associations for assistance in finding one.