Help answering summons please

[my2girls]

Hi All,

We are being sued by our CU. We are approaching the 21 day response timeline and need to buy time until we can file in Oct/Nov. I have worked out a small payment with the attorney who is representing the CU to help us buy the couple months we need (don't want our paychecks garnished) but I have been informed I still need to file a response with the court. The firm is sending us an agreement for payments to be made directly to the cu. In the end it's only going to cost us a couple hundred to hopefully get us the chpt 7. My questions are:

1. Can I file the response myself without any problems?
2. A friend of our gave us some "legal forms" One is a Motion for Installment Payments. Is this the appropriate form to complete? Is there some other paperwork we should be using?
3. If I sign a payment agreement with the attorneys will there be any problems when we file?

Thanks in advance everyone.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Hi All,

We are being sued by our CU. We are approaching the 21 day response timeline and need to buy time until we can file in Oct/Nov. I have worked out a small payment with the attorney who is representing the CU to help us buy the couple months we need (don't want our paychecks garnished) but I have been informed I still need to file a response with the court. The firm is sending us an agreement for payments to be made directly to the cu. In the end it's only going to cost us a couple hundred to hopefully get us the chpt 7. My questions are:

1. Can I file the response myself without any problems?
2. A friend of our gave us some "legal forms" One is a Motion for Installment Payments. Is this the appropriate form to complete? Is there some other paperwork we should be using?
3. If I sign a payment agreement with the attorneys will there be any problems when we file?

Thanks in advance everyone.

You are cutting it close. Now you are paying "their" attorney??? What gives? Get your own, this is too serious to deal with. As far as signing anything, there is no doubt there will be an agreement that you will automatically reaffirm the debt in the case of bankruptcy. You may not be qualified to read that legal stuff. Stall the procedure as you can. Ask for a full accounting and all those other tricks that most likely they are aware of, but you are dangerously getting close to a Judgment. Now a Judgment and/or lien can be removed in and bankruptcy, but if you don't know what you are signing, you may be stuck. You do need council real fast. 'Hub

[DesdemonaB]

Hi my2Girls
Just an FYI – I have 2Girls and I am from MI too ;)

Yes you can response, but if you have a BK lawyer, this is why you are paying them. But it sounds like you are pro se????

IMHO a DV wouldn’t work; a no means to pay might. You must answer the summons with the court or you will have default judgment entered, not knowing what county you are in it’s a tough call on the default judgment. NEVER get a default judgment in MI – they are allowed to take your state income tax refund.

I defaulted on a lawsuit in Oakland Co., July 28 2010 and by November 12 2010 they garnished. This is an Oakland Co. timeline only.

The Motion for Installment Payments COULD/MIGHT/WILL make ALL, ALL, ALL payments to that creditor an asset to the BK court, which is what you do NOT what. Don’t sign anything.

[rooster0330]

can someone just explain to me why is she is making payment is that a bad thing. Even if there is a judgment put against someone, wouldn't you still try to work out a payment arrangement to prevent a garnishment or bank levy

[catleg]

File an answer which addresses each point of the complaint with either Denied or Defendant lacks sufficient knowledge to draw a conclusion.. Find a list of "affirmative defenses" and list each of them after you answer the complaint. That should keep you in the game so their lawyer can ask you to agree to a stipulated judgment.

[my2girls]

I beleive when I was speaking with the cu's atty they said they were going to send a stipulated judgement but we still needed to reply to the court (payments would go directly to the cu). I think we probably need to have our attorney take a look since i don't want to end up in a worse situation than we're in now! Thanks for all the advice.

[DesdemonaB]

can someone just explain to me why is she is making payment is that a bad thing. Even if there is a judgment put against someone, wouldn't you still try to work out a payment arrangement to prevent a garnishment or bank levy

Any payment to a creditor for a non-secured debt within the 90-day window could be concerned a preferential payment - the trustee in turn can ask that creditor to return the funds turning those funds into an asset of the BK estate. Depending on how much was paid to the creditor could turn a simple no asset case into an asset case.

This of course is all subject to your trustee, my trustee requested paperwork (paychecks and garnishment release papers) regarding my garnishments but in the end did not pursue the creditor or the returned funds I received.

[my2girls]

Thanks for clarifying DesdemonaB. I thought I was buying some time by making 2 small payments to avoid the garnishment but it looks otherwise. I swear at this point I just want to file and take my chances at the 7. Our income is dropping signficiantly in Sept/Oct. We are over the means but have a negative dmi. We don't want to be garnished as we are both new in our positions at work. My husband is calling the atty to have him help us answer the summons. I don't want to get into something I know nothing about and I'm certainly not an atty.

Btw, we're Hockeytown Detroiters too! Go Wings! ( :

[my2girls]

File an answer which addresses each point of the complaint with either Denied or Defendant lacks sufficient knowledge to draw a conclusion.. Find a list of "affirmative defenses" and list each of them after you answer the complaint. That should keep you in the game so their lawyer can ask you to agree to a stipulated judgment.

Catleg, can you explain ""affirmative defenses"?

[IamOld]

If I may add - according to Des on the boards here a preferential issue to a non-insider creditor - say a credit union - is no issue for the debtor - if Trustee wants the $$ for the BK estate, he/she goes after the creditor - the debtor is out of the picture (which was VERY gratifying to hear!)

Any payment to a creditor for a non-secured debt within the 90-day window could be concerned a preferential payment - the trustee in turn can ask that creditor to return the funds turning those funds into an asset of the BK estate. Depending on how much was paid to the creditor could turn a simple no asset case into an asset case.

This of course is all subject to your trustee, my trustee requested paperwork (paychecks and garnishment release papers) regarding my garnishments but in the end did not pursue the creditor or the returned funds I received.

[catleg]

The most common defense is:
Plantiff failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted
There are others like unconscionable contract, incapacity to contract, usury, unclean hands, laches, etc.
I mean, you aren't expecting to win this right? It's just a pro forma answer so the case is opposed.

[AngelinaCatHub]

The most common defense is:
Plantiff failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted
There are others like unconscionable contract, incapacity to contract, usury, unclean hands, laches, etc.
I mean, you aren't expecting to win this right? It's just a pro forma answer so the case is opposed.

I strongly agree with catleg. You do owe the money as stated but you are buying time to lower your salary. If you do not answer the summons to the hearing you will get a default Judgment against you. This causes a whole lot more work.

We got a default Judgment against my Mother's ex who attempted theft of her property in a divorce settlement after she died. It was only $1200, yet I levied on his car worth $6000, and purchased it for $1700, net cost to me $700. A Judgment is a nasty thing.

[ttg1]

I spent a year fighting in court with multiple creditors as a pro se. First, if you want to fight with your creditors there are forums better targeted towards that activity, such as debtorboards, than this one.

However, if you already know you are going to file BK in two months simply ask the court for an extension of time. (The court your are being sued in, not the BK court.) I have never heard of a court denying a sixty day extension. It's pro forma. (See, I even learned to use silly Latin phrases).