Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

Judge will order you to pay what she thinks is a fair amount based on your income and expenses, and might also order you to pay the saved up lump sum plus monthly payments.

Creditor will negotiate based on your income and expenses and assets. If you show an ability to pay it all over 12 months, including your saved up lump sum, it might offer a 25% reduction for full payment now.

You could hire a lawyer to ask that the default be removed and default judgment vacated, as in all likelihood you have meritorious defenses and the creditor cannot prove its case. For example, under ordinary circumstances I'd ask for a $3,000 flat fee but refundable if I lost. (The fee would be refundable. You'd still be responsible for the judgment - as you are now. The refundability shows my confidence in success as no one likes to work for free.)

Since judgment already entered against you, I'd need a fixed $2,000.00 fee to ask that it be vacated. While I'm confident of success, since judges don't like unrepresented parties to be harmed, I could not offer this $2,000.00 fee as refundable.

I'd also need the same additional $3,000.00 refundable fee, for a total of $5,000.00 up front.

I understand your question as you having defaulted on the credit card, not that the default was entered against you in the lawsuit. If I am correct, that it will be a long time before you see a judge, because the initial 60-70% of the civil litigation process do not involve a judge at all. You will be dealing with the lawyer for the credit card (or the current holder of the account), and there are strict deadlines that you will need to follow, otherwise you will lose the case. If the Plaintiff in your case is the original holder of the account (ie the bank or the credit card), they will be lss flexible on negotiating a settlement. On the other hand, if the current holder is a third party debt buyer, there will be more flexibility. If you do not believe that you owe the money - you should fight the case. If you believe that you may owe it, you must still make sure that the Plaintiff has all the necessary documentation to prove their case. We've negotiated payoffs for lump sums in the amount of 15%-25% of the original balance in some instances. Every case is different, though. Good luck!