What to Do if You are Being Sued for Debts in Bucks County, PA

If you are in debt, you are probably already experiencing some financial stress. Having a lawsuit filed against you by creditors will only pile on to an already precarious situation. Debtors who have lawsuits filed against them can feel like they do not know what to do and become paralyzed by the severity of the situation. Fortunately, there are avenues available to individuals being sued by their creditors.

The most important thing to do after getting sued for debts is to contact a lawyer and respond to the lawsuit. If you do not do those things, you will lose the lawsuit automatically, and the creditor will have free reign to do as they please with your income and assets. After you have retained counsel, you can decide on the best way to combat a lawsuit against you to collect debts. This could mean a private negotiation with the creditor, filing for bankruptcy, or countersuing if you believe the creditor has acted in an unlawful manner.

Call Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates’ Bucks County bankruptcy lawyers at (609) 755-3115 to have us go over your case and help deal with your creditors.

Steps Right After a Debt Collector Sues You

Even before you think about how you are going to handle getting sued by a creditor, there are things you need to do as soon as possible after you find out you are being sued. Failure to do these things could have serious consequences, regardless of what path you take to handle a lawsuit to collect debt.

Get a Lawyer

You need to retain legal counsel right away if you find out you are being sued. Our Philadelphia bankruptcy lawyers can act quickly and make sure that you respond in a timely fashion to a lawsuit filed against you by creditors. Without an attorney, it will be extremely difficult to handle any lawsuit filed against you, and the other side will have a significant advantage both in and out of the courtroom.

Respond to the Lawsuit

Responding to a creditor’s lawsuit is one of the most important things you need to do if you are being sued for debts in Pennsylvania. You can respond either yourself or through an attorney who represents you. A response can be in writing, or you can show up to court to respond. Responding to a lawsuit means that you acknowledge that you are being sued, and now the creditor will have to prove in court that you owe them money to collect the debt.

Ignoring a lawsuit filed against you is probably the worst thing you could do in this situation. If you ignore a lawsuit, the creditor is going to show up to court regardless. In those instances, you risk having a default judgment put in place against you. Essentially, a default judgment means that the creditors automatically win the case and can take action to collect debts against you without telling you. This could include garnishing your wages by contacting your employer, asking your bank for payments, or foreclosing on your house.

Options to Deal with a Lawsuit from a Debt Collector in Bucks County, PA

There are several options available to individuals being sued by creditors or debt collectors. Depending on your situation, some options may be better than others, so it is a good idea to speak with our bankruptcy lawyers so that you know what the best choice is for you. Some options, like bankruptcy, will stop a lawsuit by creditors immediately, while other options, like privately resolving the dispute, may take longer.

Pay Debts

If you pay your debts to the creditor, they cannot sue you for unpaid debts. While this is technically an option for individuals being sued for debts, the reality is that creditor lawsuits often happen because debtors are already having a hard time paying their creditors.

Resolve Dispute Privately

Another way that you can stop a creditor from suing you is to try and settle the dispute outside of court. You may be able to contact the creditor and re-negotiate your payment plan. It is still advisable to have a lawyer if you pursue this path since a creditor may be unwilling to budge and still try to sue you anyway.

Sue The Creditor

Under some circumstances, you may be able to counter-sue the creditor if they file a lawsuit against you. This option is usually only available if the creditor has done something against the law when trying to contact you about your debts. There are certain actions that creditors are prohibited from doing when contacting you. For example, if a creditor threatened to “rough you up” if you did not pay or called you at work when you told them, A creditor can also not pretend to be someone who represents the government or an attorney. If you believe that your creditors have acted unlawfully, you should discuss your situation with our lawyers.

File for Bankruptcy

Filing for bankruptcy is another option you have when faced with a lawsuit by angry creditors. If you file for bankruptcy, any lawsuits from creditors immediately stop. This is because of a procedure called an “automatic stay.” Automatic stays are put in place as soon as a debtor files for bankruptcy. What this does is prevent creditors from taking your assets and harassing you about your debts by making phone calls or getting in touch through other means.

Get Help from Our Bucks County, PA Bankruptcy Lawyers

If you need assistance with a debt collection lawsuit filed against you, Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates’ Pennsylvania bankruptcy lawyers offer free case reviews when you call (609) 755-3115.