Laws in Florida,can I go to jail for not paying a Judgment?
I owe $2,000 to a bank and have no money due to the fact that I had to leave my job because I have 2 kids and daycare is too expensive. The creditor started garnishing my wages so I definitely couldnt afford daycare or anything else. Now I sent them a interrogatorries sheet filled out and they are going to court again,Im scared I might be sent to jail.Any advice or should I not be too scared?
Answers:
Maricruz-I'm just answering this because I can "see" how concerned you are. You cannot go to jail for failure to pay a debt. You do have to go to any hearing order in your case. Failure to attend a court ordered hearing is contempt of court and you could be jailed for that, although that's not likely for one failure. So-you shouldn't be too scared. Did they send you a claim of exemption form? They should have. If they didn't, mention that to the court. You have no assets--you're "judgment proof." If you find and file a Florida or federal claim of exemption form you might be able to protect your few assets and limit the garnishment. There are federal and state exemptions. You get to choose which are best for you.
ohhh I doubt you will go to jail. They will probably hold off til you get a job. I'd add interest. There have been people who owed far more than that and didn't go to jail.
You cannot be sent to jail for a debt. If you are ordered to appear in court, you MUST appear or you could be held in contempt. A contempt citation may be accompanied by a warrant for your arrest.
Good luck.
You cannot be sent to jail for debt (the practice was banned in england before the turn of the century - debtor's prison). However, the court could hold you in contempt if you fail to pay a judgment that you are "able" to pay, but chose not to (being held in contempt means, the court will place you in jail until you comply with the judgment). Therefore, the court will review whatever evidence you produce in your defense - that you are unable to pay the judgment - and if the court feels you are not able (they agree with you) you will not be put in jail. However, your debt will not go away, most likely it will be accumulating interest until you pay it.
The defining question will be: Do you have $2,000 in your possession that you could use to pay your debt? If yes, then why aren't you paying it? If you say, I need it to live on, the court will review your current spending practices - usually based off of some methodogy used by the backruptcy court to determine what you need to live off of. If you have more money then you need the court may ask you to reduce your spending practices and pay the debt (or at least the portion it feels you can afford to pay).
The short answer is, you will not be going to jail unless you are sitting on a wad of cash and refusing to pay your debt.
If you are seriously in debt and cannot pay your bills, your should be considering backruptcy.
They stopped sending people to jail for being in debt in like, the 1500s. Think about it, the federal government is in debt for trillions of dollars, it would be hypocritical for it to be illegal to have debts. Not to mention the police would have to work overtime forever and they would need to turn all of California into a prison. LOL.
Just be honest on the interrogatories, and explain to the judge about your financial problems when you go to court. They will probably put you on a payment plan or a garnishment schedule that isn't as debilitating.
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