Answer

If you have a default judgment I recommend you seek to vacate it if you did not receive proper notice of this lawsuit and if you have some reason to dispute the debt or simply to make them start over again with you being present in court for all proceedings. Also, as stated before -I recommend you speak to an attorney if you need to consider Bankruptcy or want someone to help you negotiate the debt or judgment amount down. I am in Illinois - so although I can make some suggestions from my experience in business and individual representations I have undertaken in the past - I am not authorized to appear in the courts of your state. With this said - . if the amount is worth negotiating down or fighting over - you may want to talk to them about negotiating the debt down from the current amount if, for example, perhaps you offer to pay it off in full. Sometimes they can knock out over 50% of debt if you offer a payment in full all at once. Finally, if they play hard ball with you - you can mention that since this is a default judgment - you might have a right to come in to vacate the judgment for lack of service and make them have to prove the debt. Also, if they play hardball with your wanting to reduce the debt down and pay it off sooner than later - tell them that the other option is Bankruptcy and sometimes when they hear this - they agree to take a lot less on the debt too. No - they cannot place it against your car. They can seek to file a citation to discover assets and wages in order to try to collect from your paycheck. However, if you enter into an agreement with them - to settle debt - or to pay a certain monthly fee - then all that would probably not take place. I do recommend that you speak with a lawyer to discover if it is worth negotiating down the debt or even whether or not you should discharge it in a Bankruptcy. Cars do not generally get judgments put against them. Homes do - but only if there is a properly filed lien against it - like an unpaid home contractor bill with a properly filed contractor's lien or a mortgage. So the short answer is - no - there should be no lien placed against your home for this debt. Finally, garnishments happen when someone does not follow a court authorized settlement plan or when someone is in default but was properly served a citation to discover assets.....hope this helps. I recommend you speak to a local lawyer if the debt is an amount which you find hard to pay. Always keep in mind - that the Federal law protects consumers from bad collection practices too. See the laws relating to this if you ever get a chance to go to the Federal Trade Commission's website which governs Federal Debt Collection Practices Act. Hope all this information has helped you out somewhat. Best of luck to you. Again, Alexandra

Expert:	Alexandra
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
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Answered:	3/13/2009

Attorney

Licensed in IL and in NY. Former Assistant State's Attorney and Assistant Attorney General.