If a creditor gets a judgment against you for a debt and you can’t pay, don’t panic. You can’t be put in jail just because you cannot pay a debt (with the exception of child support).
You might be judgment proof, and it is important to find out if you are judgment proof. Being “judgment proof” means that your property and income can’t be seized by creditors because it is “exempt” by law. If your income and property is exempt, then you have nothing the creditors can take from you. You are likely judgment proof if you do not own anything of great value aside from exempt property and your income is from a protected (exempt) source.
For instance, a credit card company could sue someone to collect credit card debt and the company could win. When the company wins, it gets a court order saying that person owes it money. But that person might be judgment proof (let's say the person lives only on Veterans benefits) and because of that the creditor won’t be able to do much, other than to call the person and send collection letters. There is nothing to collect, or nothing the creditor would be allowed to collect.
Read the rest of this "Am I Judgment Proof?" guide to figure out if you are judgment proof.
If you are judgment proof, send a letter to the debt collector and the court with some proof that your property and income are exempt before trial. If you already have a judgment against you, send the letter to the other lawyer or the debt collector and ideally include some proof of your income.
If the judgment against you is because you did not show up to court (what is known as a default judgment), you can ask the court to set aside that judgment within 14 days after the judge signed the judgment. If it is too late, some or all of your assets might still be shielded from creditors, if your property or income is exempt.