I have two pending judgements in my local small claim courts against me. ?

[warton26]

I haven't been able to find work for about a year now because of this bad economy. Many say that when I go to court tell the judge about my situation. I have no money in the bank no assets(no real property no house) but a beat up 13 year old car with high mileage. Unemployment is drying up soon. I have one case continued to end of April where I was suppose to go court because my mom is very ill with heart disease which the court granted me my postponement. It has been a bad year for me because of my mom's health and not able to find work in this economy. What is going to happen when I go to court and I still don't have a job by then for them to garnish. Maryland is a garnishment state. I was told not be declare bankruptcy because mycredit is ruined and the new bankruptcy laws say I still have to pay the creditors back anyway. When I was working none of my creditors never threatened to sue me and now I haven't been working for over a year; they are after me.

[gervaso81]

You have some mis-information. The new bankruptcy laws make it tougher to get a Chapter 7(Liquidation), but not impossible to get one. From your description it sounds as if you could qualify for a Chapter 7 which would get rid of all of your debts.

The downside to this is that it is going to cost you around $1500-$2000 to file for Bankruptcy. So if your total debts are near that it is not worth it, and just deal with the debt outside of BK.

Now, the creditor has several years to collect on a judgement so even though you are judgement proof right now, they can just wait it out. In Maryland they have 12 years to be able to collect on the judement. When you go to court be sure to bring proof of your income(or lack there of) and your living expenses such as your utility bills. They won't really care about any other credit cards you may have.

[elkan80]

Yeah. A judge would be the best thing. They can't work with you unless you tell them what's going on. There are also monthly payment plans too. Bankruptcy is always an option too, but it's better to do it through an agency. I believe there is one that is nicer to your credit . Also there is Debt consolidation.