Brainard, NY Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

When you are served with a lawsuit you have 3 options: 1) Contact the lender and either pay the debt in full or negotiate a settlement. You should do this right away, for if you work something out with the lender within 30 days from the day you were served, and you don't file an Answer with the Court by then, the lender will get a default judgment against you. After they get the judgment that opens them up to remedies like garnishment of your wages and bank accounts. 2) File an Answer with the Court. If you don't believe you are liable for the debt, you can fight it in Court. If the amount owed is under $25,000, the Court will put your case in the mandatory arbitration program and an arbitrator will decide your case. If you are liable for the debt, filing an Answer will buy you more time to determine what you want to do about the debt. 3) File Bankruptcy before the lender obtains a default judgment. A bankruptcy filing will immediately stop the lawsuit in its tracks and, if you successfully complete the bankruptcy, you will relieved of the debt forever. I highly recommend that you consult an attorney to discuss these options.

I presume the Schedule-J-relevant term "expenses" is confused for "debt." Assuming that, a negative figure on Schedule J line 20.c. demonstrates that the debtor is "in the red" which would suggest the merit of a claim for bankruptcy debt-relief.