Did I err by not answering a creditor's summons?

Well, I'm amazed that a legal aid has advised you not to answer summons. You need to file your answer for summons under any circumstances, even when you're apparently judgement proof.

The judgement would remain collectible whenever your situation changes. And I would also make sure that I am actually judgement proof. One can still own assets which can be used to satisfy judgement.

I wouldn't worry too much if your income is exempt and you have no assets,,,If you never plan on returning to work and are older, then don't worry at all and it is pretty much you laughing in their faces.

My guess at this is the attorney is probably retained to file the lawsuit for a debt collector. The attorney only cares about one thing, a judgment. Once he gets that judgment, he gets paid his portion and then it is usually up to the collector to collect on the judgment. Once that collector is unsuccessful he will sell the judgment or have another company take their turn at it a few years down the road, hoping your situation has changed.

SC is wrong on the collection of judgments. Some states like Georgia only have a 7 year statute and 5 years on foriegn judgments...some states go up to 20 years and are renewable.

Unfortunately, if you were served the summons and didn't file a pleading (or answer) with court, then that is a valid default judgment. Having exempt assets doesn't mean that the creditor/attorney cannot try to collect on the judgment-- it just means that the court will not seize those assets to satisfy the judgment.

[QUOTE="Jerry"]Why would he spend the time and money to go after me if he has no chance to collect? ...... Why would the creditor still go after me when his prospects of collecting anything are bleak?[/QUOTE]
Well, quite simply, because that is their job. They are allowed to make phone calls and send letters. Their goal being, that one day you might decide to make payment arrangement to avoid further collection. ["Squeaky wheel gets the oil" sort of philosophy].

Also as SC stated, your position may change such that certain assets become non-exempt (if you win the lottery, for example). They may file citations every so often to make you answer under oath what non-exempt assets you have available to satisfy the judgment. Even if your position doesn't change from time to time, there is still the inconvenience of having to go to court to answer those interrogatories ..... and in certain locales (IL for example), your failure to show up on a citation is considered contempt of court, to which the creditor can motion for a body attachment and the judge will issue a bench warrant for arrest. (You will have to put up a bond to be released, upon your promise to appear in court on citation, and the bond you pay will be turned over to the creditor as payment toward the judgment).

[QUOTE="Pokertramp"]
Once he gets that judgment, he gets paid his portion and then it is usually up to the collector to collect on the judgment
[/QUOTE]

I can't speak for all attorneys out there, but most collection attorneys (or maybe I should say any that my company has used) work on contingency. The attorney charges the creditor up front for any actual costs (court filing fees, service, etc), but then collects his "fee" (usually 1/3) as the debt is paid. For example if the debtor makes a $300 payment, the attorney will keep $100 as his fee and send $200 to the creditor (the creditor has to give a full $300 credit towards the debt).

I've only read my own contingency agreements with our attorneys, but basically once we retain an attorney to file suit, "it's his" and we agree to pay him 1/3 of any money ever collected on that debt in the future. The attorney will continue to collect after judgment. We may cross-collect to aid his efforts, but any collection/payments we receive are still bound by our contingency agreement.

I've learned my lesson. If I'm ever faced with a similar situation, I'll answer the summons. Thanks for the replies.