I live in PA. Long story short, I've been in financial trouble for a while now and had been thinking of filing chapter 7 if needed. Well, at the beginning of this month my mother calls me and says that she was served a notice from a collection agency working for Discover at her house (I haven't lived there for 5+ years). She told me the person serving the notice said that I wasn't being sued, it was just a notice to contact the debt collector or I'd be sued. Figured it was another scare tactic and brushed it off for the time being. Well when I stopped by her house this week, it sure looks like a notice that I'm being sued to me, with a court case number and court date for May 31st in the morning. I've definitely decided to file for chapter 7 at this point, but I doubt I'd be able to do it by the court date, especially with a holiday weekend. I'm self employed and in PA they can't garnish wages anyway. I am concerned about a judgment and having my bank account frozen however, because I'm living off of every penny in the account and need a functioning account to be able to do business with clients. I essentially need to stall a judgment long enough to be able to file BK. I'm a little confused about the timeline in PA though. So will a judgment be issued at the court date on the 31st if I don't respond or show up? and if so, does the creditor get permission to levy my bank accounts then, or a later time? If I do nothing and a judgment is issued against me, about how long would I have until I'd have to worry about a bank account being frozen by a creditor? Should I answer the complaint and will this buy me time before a judgement is issued? Would I have to go to court at all just to buy time, or would answering be enough to buy me some time? I don't have money for a lawyer so will be doing this myself. I have the NOLO guide but haven't had more than a few hours to look into much. I feel pretty confident that I can do it pro se, I just haven't had much time and time is short to find out how to try and fend off a judgment and account freeze to give me the time I need for BK.
Also, I unfortunately use Wells Fargo as my bank, and have 2 cards with them as well, one I stopped making payments on and one that is current. I do have an account with Alliant Credit Union (no PA branches) too but also a credit card with them as well that's current. I've read Wells Fargo's stance on freezes as soon as you file for BK so know that I need to change banks, at least for a while. I was thinking of using TD bank as I've never had business with them before. If a judgment is issued against me before I can file BK, what are the odds that the creditor would be able to find and freeze a new TD bank account in PA? Also, since I'm self-employed and only my earnings are deposited, is that considered wages that they couldn't touch? Also, I assume Alliant would freeze and take any funds in my accounts there as soon as I file since I'd have to include my card with them even though it's current correct?
Sorry if I've rambled. It's a stressful situation made much worse by an apparent time crunch to sort it out. Thanks for any help in advance.
Also, I unfortunately use Wells Fargo as my bank, and have 2 cards with them as well, one I stopped making payments on and one that is current. I do have an account with Alliant Credit Union (no PA branches) too but also a credit card with them as well that's current. I've read Wells Fargo's stance on freezes as soon as you file for BK so know that I need to change banks, at least for a while. I was thinking of using TD bank as I've never had business with them before. If a judgment is issued against me before I can file BK, what are the odds that the creditor would be able to find and freeze a new TD bank account in PA? Also, since I'm self-employed and only my earnings are deposited, is that considered wages that they couldn't touch? Also, I assume Alliant would freeze and take any funds in my accounts there as soon as I file since I'd have to include my card with them even though it's current correct?
Sorry if I've rambled. It's a stressful situation made much worse by an apparent time crunch to sort it out. Thanks for any help in advance.
Comment