Do I sign consent judgement?

[Reese]

This weekend I was served by the sheriff's dept in the county in MI where I live with a summons regarding a car loan I defaulted on. I contacted the lawyer directly and it was suggested by them that they write up an agreement to a consent judgement where I pay 50/month and 6.9%int. Even though I am willing to pay the 50/mo, (I have only unemployment benefits and my wife's child support as income; our only asset is a car worth approx 6,000 for which we owe 22,000), does this mean that they could still garnish wages later? If so, should I still go forth w/ the payment arrangement/consent judgement, or is there another route that would better serve our situation? Should I pay the 50/mo? Is there a way to prevent a judgement from being entered at this point?

[AngelinaCatHub]

OK Reese. You are starting out with very little information. First, what are your intentions? Do not sign anything without talking to a lawyer. If you do, you could damage a “clean start”. I implore you to stay cool as all you got was a summons to appear. You should have 20 or 30 days to respond. That is time enough to stall them. No you don’t want a judgment but it is not the last hope in the world as it can be set aside in a bk. If you sign an agreement, that may not be the case. ‘Hub

[AngelinaCatHub]

BTW, were you served Saturday or Sunday? Sunday service is not binding and breaks the law. 'Hub

[AngelinaCat]

BTW, were you served Saturday or Sunday? Sunday service is not binding and breaks the law. 'Hub

Hi 'Hub. That depends on what state Reese is in. It is illegal for service to be done on Sundays in Florida. But that might not be true in some of the other states.

[junker]

sounds like you might be eligible to talk to legal aid, in your county, sometimes they are a great help in situations like this. they should be able to advise you on what to do

[Reese]

I'm in Michigan and was served on a Saturday. As for my intentions, I am not sure at this point. I do not want to have to find 50/mo, and quite frankly, I'm not sure if I can. I don't want a judgement, for obvious reasons, so I would like to be able to pay on the account w/o a judgement. One of my big questions is why would they enter into an agreement at 50/mo and almost 7% int, which would take over 300 years to repay? Are they planning on garnishing my pay in the future?

[AngelinaCat]

How close are you to filing?

You typically have 20 days to answer a summons. You will need to appear in court on the appointed date. If the small claims court behaves similar to the way ours did, you will be asked if you legitimately owe the debt. I would say that you neither admit or deny.

Typically a date is set for you and the creditor to go to Arbitration. In our county, Arbitration is only held once a month. In our case, that date was almost an entire month away. However, that date was for a date that we would be out of town for an event that had already been scheduled and could not be postponed. We spoke up and said so. That put our date for Arbitration back ANOTHER month.

By then, we had our paperwork in order and had filed which brought all proceedings to a screeching halt.

That debt was discharged and that was that.

But you will need to appear in court. If you don't, you will be slapped with a default judgment and the creditor can the take steps to garnish your wages.

Good luck!

[Trixie007]

But you will need to appear in court. If you don't, you will be slapped with a default judgment and the creditor can the take steps to garnish your wages.

Good luck!

Can they garnish unemployment and child support? Seems like he's safe there...

You might need to worry about them siezing bank accounts though.

[Reese]

There was no court date on the paperwork. It just said I was being sued, layed out their charges/claims against me, and let me know I had 21 days to file an answer w/ the court.

[Reese]

Another question is: It was only my name on the lawsuit. I got the car before I was married, but defaulted on the loan and had it repossessed after I was married. Can they go after any of my wife's property; bank accounts w/ her name on it, car w/ her as primary, etc?

[StartingOver08]

I'm in Michigan and was served on a Saturday. As for my intentions, I am not sure at this point. I do not want to have to find 50/mo, and quite frankly, I'm not sure if I can. I don't want a judgement, for obvious reasons, so I would like to be able to pay on the account w/o a judgement. One of my big questions is why would they enter into an agreement at 50/mo and almost 7% int, which would take over 300 years to repay? Are they planning on garnishing my pay in the future?

Yes. Once you have signed this consent judgment, you are bound by the agreement. The reason the attorney for the car company told you to sign the consent judgment is then he does not have to take you to trial - you already admitted to the debt and agreed to the judgment. From that point they can garnish wages, sieze accounts etc.

So, your instinct is right. DO NOT SIGN IT. Answer the summons - or file BK to discharge this and other debts. If you are filing BK, why pay this one?

[treehugger1]

If it were me in my state, I would not consent to anything. On the other hand, I would think that the $50 per month legal agreement would protect you from additional wage garnishment on this loan. Call then back and tell them you agree to the $50 per month payment, but are not willing to consent to a voluntary judgment.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Another question is: It was only my name on the lawsuit. I got the car before I was married, but defaulted on the loan and had it repossessed after I was married. Can they go after any of my wife's property; bank accounts w/ her name on it, car w/ her as primary, etc?

[freshstartfl]

service isn't binding in FL on Sundays? I had no idea, and I'm a paralegal! lol. I don't work in the service department, though. Very interesting fact, hub... I'll remember that in case anyone tries to serve my fiancee on his old repo.

[AngelinaCatHub]

If it were me in my state, I would not consent to anything. On the other hand, I would think that the $50 per month legal agreement would protect you from additional wage garnishment on this loan. Call then back and tell them you agree to the $50 per month payment, but are not willing to consent to a voluntary judgment.