Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Indiana

Re: being sued, third court date

yes, you can be held in contempt and yes, it is to finanlize the garnishment. The Court is ordering you to appear. If you don't, you can be held in contempt and an arrest warrant can be put out on you, so make sure you go. This hearing is to figure out what assets (including wages) you have that your creditor can take to get paid.

Re: being sued, third court date

Yes, you can be held in contempt for not appearing at the hearing re: your debt. What I would do is get your supervisor or human resources to provide you with a written statement indicating that it does not allow lost time for its employees. Take this with you to your contempt hearing and explain to the judge that you could not attend the last hearing do to work rules, and you can corroborate your excuse by the written stmt.

By all means do not miss the next court date, or the judge may issue a bench warrant for your arrest, and the deputies could show up at your workplace, handcuff you, and take you before the judge.

Once you clear that hurdle, then the hearing will probably center on how you intend to pay the debt off. The creditor may accept another agreeemnt for you to pay it off, or he may ask you questions about work, so he can prepare a garnishment order for the judge to approve in a future hearing.

The key to minimizing your pain with collection attorneys is communication. If you have worked out a deal, but fall on hard times and can't keep up the payments, then call the attorney and let him know your circumstances, and when you think you can start resuming your payments again. Most collection attorneys will work with debtors who are trying to pay off their debts.