Got sued?

[womanonfire]

Or it could be a race to the courthouse steps to get that default judgment and record a lien on any real estate in the same county especially if there is non-exempt equity to be had. If there is an answer, a creditor would probably just stop doing any discovery work on the lawsuit because it's eventually going to be dismissed anyway by the BK. Now if the OP is pro se in the BK, it's all just an empty threat until there is a case number and the creditors are not going to slow down.

But those liens can be stripped quite easily correct?

[justbroke]

But those liens can be stripped quite easily correct?

Only if they impair an exemption. And, that's the kicker!

[flashoflight]

Lien strips cost extra legal fees too. We are talking about $500-$1000 per lien for starters and the more complicated avoid lien motions can be $1500.

[womanonfire]

Only if they impair an exemption. And, that's the kicker!

So it seems in a Chapter 7 liquidation it could stripped but not in a Chapter 13.

[justbroke]

So it seems in a Chapter 7 liquidation it could stripped but not in a Chapter 13.

In a Chapter 13, a lien strip becomes unsecured debt so it may or may not be paid by the Chapter 13. However, liens stripped in a Chapter 13 will have the unpaid balance discharged at the end.

[Faith527]

Hi womanonfire I am a newbie but I thought I would share our experience. We stopped paying 3 credit cards in August 2018. I kept the CC companies updated verbally until about January 2019. At 10 months past due, 2 credit cards filed lawsuits against me. I was served with papers in May 2019. I engaged a lawyer and paid him $2K for both lawsuits hoping he could "stave off" a judgement from becoming a lien on the house. Push came to shove and we had to file to prevent 2 liens on the home. Our lawyer applied the $2K we paid him towards our BK fee which was very kind of him. Pre filing, lawyer advised me to "just open the door, accept the summons, be nice to the server who is only doing his job". Great advice because another credit card sued us but we had never been served. I did advise the 2 companies who sued me that I would be filing and they then sped up their lawsuits/filings, which forced us to bit the bullet and file. I am sure someone will correct me, but I was pretty sure I read that you cannot strip a lien in a Chapter 7, which is the final push we needed. Good luck, best wishes.

[womanonfire]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'm working on my Chapter 13 schedules just in case push comes to shove, I can't get a decent attorney and I need to file on my own.

[Faith527]

I just read above that liens can be stripped "only if they impair an exemption" - that makes sense and sounds to me as if my lawyer would groan at the additional work.

[justbroke]

Well, there are two types of liens, technically; consensual and non-consensual.

A consensual lien is a mortgage on your home. You voluntarily pledged the home as collateral against the Promissory Note (the loan itself). This could be in the form of a Deed of Trust (an evil instrument if you ask me) or a Deed of Mortgage.

A non-consensual lien usually occurs because of litigation. It is typically an involuntarily lien placed against your collateral. But another type of non-consensual lien is that statutory lien. Think of a judgement lien, after being sued as an involuntary lien. Think of your property tax as being a purely statutory (and priority) lien. You can almost never discharge a statutory lien; albeit some can be removed/discharged/stripped. (Property taxes are different as property taxes usually attach to the land, and do not attach to the individual person.)

There are way too many scenarios based on consensual/non-consensual, whether they are dischargeable (impair an exemption) or can be stripped (have no value against the collateral... but only in a Chapter 13).

That's why they require additional work. The extent, force and affect of the lien must be reviewed by the attorney and a decision as to whether to file a Motion to Avoid, Strip or Condition the lien. A judicial lien (caused from a lawsuit in which the debtor lost) is easier to avoid than a consensual or statutory lien. It is also dependent on the debtor's State (jurisdiction) because the State non-bankruptcy laws drive this as much as the Federal laws.

Phew!

[Faith527]

I would love to borrow your brain heehee. So glad I found this place.

[Carmella]

Are you talking about being sued by credit card/collections? My husband and I were sued by maybe 5. We were summoned, we avoided it , we stalled the process. We did not have to pay anything to the court or credit card companies. They were named in the BK and I think they all filed a claim. I did not tell the credit card companies we were filing. Following our attorney's advice--he gave us advice,but did not go to court with us. Some judges required in person others had telephone conferences. We were able to stall for time. There was only one creditor I ended up telling about the BK because it was about a week before we filed, the attorney had all the paperwork and the judge still set a future date to go to court, but said that when we filed it would be cancelled. I don't know if all jurisdictions work like this. You may have ample time to get everything in order.

I do not recommend doing any of this if you have the option. File as soon as you can. I procrastinated I was an emotional mess and my husband was worse with his anxiety so he was not able to be supportive. We are fortunate that we did not get sued/wages garnished. The attorney tore me a new one at one point due to the procrastination and she was correct and had to get my attention.

[skyoumans]

I was sued from a credit union for a personal loan and it was about a year after I quit paying. I had not filed bankruptcy yet, but had asked the attorney what to do if this happens. He sent me a template and told me to answer the summons. I did and they scheduled a mediation and a court date for August and September. This bought me 7 months and I filed the next month.

[womanonfire]

Are you talking about being sued by credit card/collections? My husband and I were sued by maybe 5. We were summoned, we avoided it , we stalled the process. We did not have to pay anything to the court or credit card companies. They were named in the BK and I think they all filed a claim. I did not tell the credit card companies we were filing. Following our attorney's advice--he gave us advice,but did not go to court with us. Some judges required in person others had telephone conferences. We were able to stall for time. There was only one creditor I ended up telling about the BK because it was about a week before we filed, the attorney had all the paperwork and the judge still set a future date to go to court, but said that when we filed it would be cancelled. I don't know if all jurisdictions work like this. You may have ample time to get everything in order.

I do not recommend doing any of this if you have the option. File as soon as you can. I procrastinated I was an emotional mess and my husband was worse with his anxiety so he was not able to be supportive. We are fortunate that we did not get sued/wages garnished. The attorney tore me a new one at one point due to the procrastination and she was correct and had to get my attention.

I have a complicated case and having a hard time finding an attorney. I'm working both angles; looking for an attorney and getting it ready to file myself if I have to.

What kinda balances were they that sued? I heard Cap. One was the one most likely, Chase least likely.