Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

Read it! A civil action is a lawsuit.

First, take a deep breath and relax. Do not panic. When did you receive the lawsuit? How much is owed? Do you legitimately owe the debt? If so, how long has it been since you paid? Is it from Zwicker, Hanna or someone else?

These are all important questions and may dictate what you do next. You should only spend money on a lawyer and file an answer to the complaint if one of the following is true: (1) the statute of limitations has expired (in Georgia, the statute is 6 years, which means that there has to be six or more years from the date of default until the date the lawsuit was filed); (2) this is not your debt (it is against another person with the same name) or else it was an identify fraud situation in which the real debtor pretended to be you; (3) you already paid the debt; or (4) the amount they claim that you owe just is not right (either they did not credit your for payments or the complaint just has the completely wrong amount). You also might want to challenge this if the relevant documents are not attached to the complain (in case of a debt, this might be the credit card application and proof of assignment of the debt if the debt was sold to a junk debt buyer).

Assuming that one of the above situations exist, you may want to talk to an attorney in your area that does credit card defense. It will be worthwhile to pay the attorney to represent you if you have a legitimate defense. Do not do this on your own. You would not do brain surgery on yourself, would you? If the answer is no, then you should not represent yourself either. Most lawyers spent at least 3 years in law school and are familiar with the rules. You are not.

Assuming that the debt is yours, its a waste of money to hire a lawyer. You are only delaying the inevitable because the creditor will get a judgment against you and all that you will have accomplished is causing them to spend more in legal fees (which you will end up paying) and delay. If delay is worth it, then fine a lawyer. But the same thing can often be accomplished without hiring one to answer the complaint.

Now for the judgment. A judgment is just a piece of paper. Its not the judgment itself which is important, but its effect. What does the judgment allow the creditor to do? The judgment constitutes a lien on any land. If the land is encumbered by a mortgage or deed of trust, the lien would have to be paid at the time the land is sold unless the property is worth a lot more than the amount owed. The judgment can be renewed after 7 years.

The judgment also allows the creditor to levy on your personal property, like your car if it is paid for and worth more than $3500. The creditor does not want your pots and pans, but will look for easy targets like money in the bank. Don't keep very much in the bank after the judgment is entered. I can give you other ideas in a private discussion if you are interested. Do you get any income like Social Security, VA benefits, or an IRA/pension? If so, the creditor cannot touch that. Again, I can help you set things up so the creditor cannot touch that.

Do you work? If so, are you self-employed or do you work for someone else? If you are self-employed, they cannot garnish your wages. If you work for someone, then they can. They can take maximum usually up to 25% of your disposable pay (gross pay after deductions for things like taxes). But it depends on what you make. You may make too little to be garnished. For a handy chart, see:http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs30.pdf.

If you are confused, I would need to see your pay stub to calculate this for you.

So what to do to avoid them from garnishig your wages or taking your property? You can file for bankruptcy. This has consequences. I would only choose this option if you are $10,000 or more in debt. It is going to cost you money to file for bankruptcy (approximately $1500 to $2000, but this can vary by attorney and you might find somebody to do it for less). It also depends on your age. If you are 80 and in a nursing home it makes no sense. if you are under 70 and may need credit in the future, then bankruptcy might make more sense. It also depends on what you earn. If you earn too much, you would have to file Chapter 13, which means that you have to pay back a portion of your debts. Some people find this a challenge and if this is you, it might make sense not to file. Only a bankruptcy attorney can go over your assets and debts to see whether you qualify for a chapter 7 or 13. If you are curious, you might to http://www.legalconsumer.com to give you an idea.

Assuming that you do not want to go the bankruptcy route and want to settle your debt, if you want to settle for less than 100%, start saving funds now. Wait until you have 50%; most creditors will settle for 50% to 80% of whatever the judgment is at that time if you want to do a lump sum. If you want payments, the creditor might want more. Each credit card is different and each situation is different. If you don't have the funds, you could also do a payment plan, but the creditor will want the full amount. Plan on any payments to be about 1% to 2% of the debt, but this is just a ballpark figure. Amounts can vary. Remember to get any agreements in writing before you pay a penny.

Feel free to contact me if you would like help resolving this debt for a reasonable fee.

Rachel Hunter

Attorney at Law

[email protected]

(678)-687-9693

Admitted in GA, PA & NC

You have been sued. That's serious, but don't panic.

You do need to see a lawyer well before 30 days from receipt. My office handles such cases.

If you are eligible filing bankruptcy may wipe out the debt (and other debts). If not, you may be able to work out a settlement or may have defenses you can raise to win the case.

Get one of our free worksheets at www.glenashman.com and I'll review the information. Call me at 404-768-3509.

Again, don't panic, but do act quickly.