A friend is being sued in Texas for a debt. 2 years ago he was sued over a debt his ex defaulted on. There was a default judgement and I doubt he paid the debt. I think the new suit is an attempt to collect on the judgment. What happens if he doesn't go to court and still refuses to pay? he works on commission. I assume the court will garnish his wages? Is there anything else they can do?
2007-11-27 00:41:37 · 10 answers · asked by sweetladyu2 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
In the State of Texas 100% of wages are exempt from garnishments except by the Federal Government.
What the courts can do is slap him with contemp of court and put him in jail.
The creditor can also attach bank accounts and file liens on any property he may own like cars, boats, land and homes.
2007-11-27 01:16:25 · answer #1 · answered by ? 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
They are going after your friend because Texas is one of the 9 community property states and he is responsible for his spouse bill if debt occured while they were married only. They can't attach his income because of Texas law and because he is Self employed anyway. So thats out. I imagine he has paid them some small payments before with a check and they have stored his checking acct information and that is an asset they can go after. I would suggest your friend immediately closes his checking acct down and open a new acct at a different bank and from now on pay any creditors with money orders only and say he does not have a checking acct. That could be one reason they are going after him... The other may be he owns a home and they want to put a lien on it.. They can't get their money unless the house sells and if friend never sells it then they can't get their money either.. I imagine the judgement he was served will say if he does not attend court than it is admission he owes the bill and he is not bothering to come in and dispute it. I have never heard that a person can go to jail for not contesting a bill. Thats absurd! Besides the judgement papers will tell him if there is any consequences or not!!
2007-11-27 19:33:05 · answer #2 · answered by Lea 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with Spifiman, acermill and Celeste. Also Celeste gave a very good answer concerning commission garnishment for Texas.
It sounds like this is an asset hearing, if that is the case then he "can" be held in contempt of court if he fails to show up which "could" lead to jail time and possibly a fine.
Some of the posters commented saying there is no debtors prison, which there isn't in the U.S.
A person does not have to show up for a debt lawsuit hearing. They will automatically lose, but they won't go to jail for failing to show.
But an asset hearing is "much" different than a debt lawsuit hearing and could lead to jail time if a person does not show up.
2007-11-28 19:15:44 · answer #3 · answered by echo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's a small technicality to that Texas wage exemption law for garnishment. WAGES are exempt 100%, but commissions unpaid may not be considered as a wage. It's entirely possible that the commission portion of his income could be garnished. If he works 100% on commission, there may be no exemption whatsoever.
2007-11-27 09:45:20 · answer #4 · answered by acermill 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If he lost a prior judgment and failed to comply with it, he now has a new problem to deal with. He failed to obey the court which is called contempt of court. Now the judge can really slap him hard, even with jail time for failure to obey a court order. The courts will had on to his previous debt. This time the judge may opt to garnish his wages to get the money owed the court and the other person. The court has many options to choose from, the friend I'm sorry to say doesn't.
2007-11-27 08:47:18 · answer #5 · answered by earl c 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
There are a few good things about the sweet state of Texas. The only people that can garnish your paycheck is the IRS, Student loans, and Child support. It will just stay a judgment on his credit report.
2007-11-27 12:32:18 · answer #6 · answered by R.Womack 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In Texas, unpaid commissions are exempt up to $30,000 or $60,000 for Head of Household.
If he refuses to acknowledge the court summons or any notice to fully disclose your income/exemptions, he could be held in contempt of court and put in jail.
He needs to just make reasonable arrangements with the creditor and get it over with. Otherwise, unpaid judgments can follow him around for a long time.
2007-11-27 10:58:31 · answer #7 · answered by Celeste 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
They can garnish his wages or set up a debt repayment plan.
2007-11-27 08:44:50 · answer #8 · answered by Gary D 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
YOU HAVE TO go to court. You tell the judge how much you can pay, or that you can't pay..thank God there are no debtors prisons. If you don't go to court you have more problems!
2007-11-27 08:57:31 · answer #9 · answered by PROBLEM 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Attach liens to present and future acquired real property.
2007-11-27 08:44:41 · answer #10 · answered by wizjp 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋