Huffman, TX Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

If you are sued in a civil court for a debt you need to file an answer or else a default judgment will occur. You are not arrested or jailed for failure to file an answer or appear in lieu of an answer. Once there is a judgment, however, the judge may order you to appear for an examination of your assets. That type of court order can result in a warrant for your arrest in you fail to appear. Consult a local attorney for advice in this matter. This is applicable to California law. Illinois law may differ.

It depends on whether you file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, the type of payment ordered in the divorce decree, and more. The general rule of thumb is no, but there are exceptions in Chapter 13 in the right circumstances.

The first thing you need to do if and when you get sued is file an Answer. The summons will tell you that you must "appear" by way of an Answer in 10, 20 or 30 days, "depending on the method of service." PLEASE CHECK THE LAW IN YOUR STATE AS YOU MAY ACTUALLY HAVE TO APPEAR IN COURT, AS IN VIRGINIA, IN ORDER TO AVOID A DEFAULT! You need a lawyer, but if you cannot afford one right away, rather than do nothing and have a judgment entered against you, is to "appear" by filing something! Many people think this means they have to go to Court and this is incorrect. 90% of all lawsuits end in Default Judgments because the defendant (person getting sued) did not file an Answer. I recommend you go to the free form I have on my website. Print it out and fill it out as instructed. You must answer the numbered paragraphs on the Complaint by writing them into the appropriate lines in the Answer. The Answer will allow you to preserve your rights and will prohibit a default judgment (i.e. you did not show up) from being entered against you. Mimic the paperwork you got when you got sued. Answer all the paragraphs of the Complaint by writing the numbers in lines 1, 2 or 3. Almost 100% of attorneys will deny what is owed because they did not do the calculations and do not know what the basis for the number is... When you file the Answer that is your "not guilty". You have the right to make the person suing you (Plaintiff) prove their case, but you must also answer the complaint truthfully. Make sure you fill in the name and address of the attorney suing you before you bring this paperwork to the Court. Mail it to the attorney suing you right away! Good Luck!