Sheriff at my relatives house - a little panicked!

[BurgerKingVII]

How would I find out if I can do this? Call the county courthouse and ask them what types of circumstances would warrant an extension? I just need to buy some time, just a little bit.

Unfortunately, the clerk's office won't be able to help you there, as they're not supposed to give legal advice.

I can say that in the two states where I've practiced law, I've never seen a motion for extension of time that significantly relied upon legal authority. It's been more of a common-sense kind of thing; i.e., is this a reasonable basis for giving someone more time? And from what I've seen, if you're pro se, most judges are pretty good about giving you some extra time to hire a lawyer.

The important thing is to check the court rules (especially local rules) to see if there are any special procedures for motions to extend time. For example, one type of local rule I've sometimes seen requires the party seeking an extension to contact the other side first and try to work it out by agreement.

Lawyers often agree to extensions of time as a matter of professional courtesy. Off the top of my head, I can't recall a case where I refused consent.

Your situation is a bit different, though. First, since you're currently pro se (at least with respect to this Citibank lawsuit), you may not get the professional courtesy that one lawyer would extend to another.

Second, the law firms that file these collection lawsuits often aren't like most law firms. Most of the ones that I've dealt with are essentially debt collection agencies owned by lawyers who use litigation to collect debts. They typically have so many cases that when I've called them, the lawyer doesn't know a thing about the case until he's pulled it up on his computer screen. And many of them just want to get paid as much as possible, as soon as possible.

Do you all recommend that I talk to Citibank and let them know that I'm filing for bankruptcy and see what happens?

Previously you mentioned that your lawyer advised you to do this, so I'd say yes. If for some reason you really don't think it's a good idea, you could get a second opinion from a different attorney. Either way, the advice that you get from your lawyer should always trump anything you read here.

I do know that I'm getting my money and paperwork together and sending the lawyer a money order this week. That way when I talk to Citibank I can say, I have retained an attorney, here is her number. Please call her if you have any further questions about my bankrutpcy. Do you think that's a better approach in dealing with this instead of talking with them on the phone???

That's something you'll want to ask your lawyer about. She might not want to deal with creditors on your behalf until she's been paid. For example, my own BK attorney typically wants at least a $500 deposit before she'll handle communications with creditors.