Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts
im on disability & have some outstanding debts. some bills i can only afford to pay $10 a month to. i have 2 questions:
1. should a collection agency that ive been paying charge me interest?
2. just before my mom died in 94 my parents added my brothers & i's names to the deed of our house (where i, my 75yr old dad & cousin currently live). one of my old debtors has placed a lien on the house & i have to appear in court regarding this. what should i do? what should i bring to court? can they force us to sell the house?
thank you for your time & help. i truly appreciate it.
JB
2 Answers from Attorneys
Whether or not a collection agency 'should' charge you interest is not really the question. The fact is that your debt continues to accrue interest at whatever rate you agreed to pay when you first took out the loan (check out your credit card agreement, loan documents, etc., for the applicable interest rate).
Because you are at risk of losing your house, you should probably hire an attorney to settle this debt for you. Feel free to contact my office at 617-357-4898 if you would like to discuss your matter.
Unless you have a declaration of homestead that pre-dates the debt, technically a creditor with a lien could force a sale of the home. As a practical matter, if there are mortgages or no equity in the home, it won't make sense for them to force a sale. In any event, a bankruptcy filing, if you qualify, would stop a sale of this nature and wipe out the lien.
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