Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

Re: 8 months late on promissary

The first step is to obtain a judgment against the person for the total amount owed. In order to do this, you need to file a lawsuit in either Small Claims or District Court. If the total owed is less than 2,000 then you can file in Small Claims court, if over 2,000 then you need to file in District Court. The District Court in your county should have a Small Claims division where you can obtain the Complaint form, fill it out, and file the case. A hearing will be scheduled where both sides can present their case. If the court finds in your favor, a judgment will issue for the amount of note plus interest and costs. If the person still does not pay, you will need to institute another action to either seize property, garnish wages, or ask court to order a payment plan. Often times you can obtain a judgment stating Jane Doe owes you money, however, if Jane Doe has no assets (real estate, bank accounts) to seize and no money to pay, you may not be able to fully recover the money. If the note amount is over 2,000, you probably want to hire an attorney to bring the lawsuit since the rules in District Court are much more complex than in Small Claims court.

It appears from the facts that the note was unsecured (meaning there was no collateral). If there was security involved, you could seek to seize the security until the note is paid in full.

Re: 8 months late on promissary

You can file suit in small claims - depending on the amount.