I got a summons for court and have 20 days to reply, what ar

Well, if you don't file an answer with the court within 20 days of receiving the summons, a judgment is awarded to the creditor automatically. If you do file the answer with the court, and you genuinely owe the debt, you are only delaying the inevitable, which is the judgment being awarded against you. Once the answer is filed, the plaintiff's counsel usually waits a month and then sends you more paperwork, which they have filed with the court. They will probably send a set of interrogatories to be answered. This goes on, back and forth, until they finally file a request for summary judgment, which the judge almost always awards to the plaintiff. So, it's a sucky situation either way.

If there is any way possible that you can come up with a lump sump that you could offer to the creditor/collection agency as settlement on the debt, this may be your saving grace. You would have to contact whoever filed the complaint for judgment with the court (this should be listed on the summons) and offer them a settlement. You'll want to do this before the 20 days is up. If they are agreeable, also ask them to vacate the judgment as part of the settlement terms. Make sure to get the settlement figure agreed upon and their agreement to vacate the judgment in writing before you pay them any money.

If you can't come up with a lump sum now, you could always offer a settlement of $____ amount to be paid in 2 or 3 payments, with the first payment to be made immediately, and to also vacate the judgment. Sometimes a creditor/collection agency will go for this.

It's definitely worth a try. If you do decide to file an answer with the court, I would strongly advise trying to get an attorney or paralegal to help you with this. Doing it yourself (pro se) usually backfires or can make the situation worse if you don't know exactly what to do.

Be sure to file your answer, and especially show up on the court date. Many state's have "pauper" statutes, and generally the court would take your financial condition into account. Most states also have a long list of exemptions from judgment. It all depends on which state you live in.

That's exactly why I suggest getting help from an attorney or paralegal to draft up the answer that will be filed. My state obviously doesn't have a "pauper statute", as the judge basically said, "Too bad, so sad, not the creditor's problem."