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Hello there. This is my first question on this website. Hopefully someone is able to guide me.

My father is 74 and very ill and my mother is 70 with cancer. They were keeping up on their credit card payments until they got worse healthwise. Now they are putting their money into medications and health insurance. My father goes to the VA Hospital because they can't afford to pay insurance for both of them.

So a couple days ago they got a court summons for February 6th on an older credit card. Their income is only about $20,000 a year and that's SSI and a very, very small pension.

Like I stated above they are both very ill and this added stress is not helping. I tried to call the lawyer that was taking them to court and they were very rude and not willing to help.

My parents are not financially able to pay this debt back.

Does anyone out there know what they can or not do? They do own their home, but that's all they have. We are in the state of Missouri.

Any advice would be much appretiated.

How big is the amount they are getting sued for?

Do they own the house outright? How long have they lived in it? And how much is it worth (approx)?


The most that can happen is that they could put a lien on the house. That means that if they ever decide to sell the house, they will have to pay the judgment (the amount they are being sued for) with the proceeds from the house. If they pass before they sell the house, the judgment will likely follow the title to whoever gets the house at that point.

They won't get their SSI checks garnished. Don't worry about that.

Depending on how long they've been in the house, they may be able to file Ch7 and still keep the house. If not, they could just let themselves get sued, the lien will be placed on the house and whenever the house is sold, the lien will then have to be paid. Sure it will go against their credit... but at this point, what do they need their credit for anyway?

Thanks so much for your help. I was afraid that's what would happen. They do own their house outright. The credit card debt is $9,000. This is not the only one though. Just the only one right now that is going after them. They have lived there almost 20 years.

I guess the lien isn't the worst thing in the world to have happen. My mom is just very scared.

Do you know if she should try to go to court? What if she doesn't show up and could we send a letter to the judge letting him know they are too sick to appear?

They did a reverse mortgage a couple years ago to pay their taxes that were a couple years past due. Can a lien be put on their house with a reverse mortgage?

They do owe the money just can't afford to pay it right now.

She should try to go unless she is too sick. Not showing up will grant them a default judgment and they can then attempt to get the lien. Given her status, if she sows up, the judge may dismiss the debt all together. As for the letter, I couldn't help you there. Im not sure.

If you are interested, I know of a great resource to get unlimited legal advice for about $30! It's a company called Legal Advice Line (http://legaladviceline.com/default_1024.htm). They have been around for lik 15 years and I have never heard any complaints. If you can afford the $30, it is definitely worth it.

I wish you the best. Hope everything works out.

The plaintiff's lawyer was rude? Not a big shocker. Most lawyers are rude.

Added stress for your folks? Sorry to hear about that.

Do they owe the money? It sounds like they do, and just don't have the money to pay for it. In which case, all that will happen most likely is that a lien will be placed on their house. So when they do sell the house, the money from the sale will first go to pay off this credit card company.

A lien can still be placed on the house even with a mortgage. When the house is sold, the mortgage company will get their $$ first, then the lien.

It's a shame you couldn't have got them to QUit Claim the property over to you before this occurred because they couldn't attached a property that was no longer theirs... something to think about if they have more bills coming... it has to be recorded though so they know when they (cereditors) do there property checks down at the recorders office..

Its a shame you couldnt have got them to QUit Claim the property over to you before this occured because they couldnt attached a property that was no longer theirs...something to think about if they have more bills coming...it has to be recorded though so they know when they (cereditors) do there property checks down at the recorders office..

But there is also a 2 year rule or equivillant. That is, any property transfers made within 2 years can be reversed (if it wasn't a sale at fair market value)

A lien can still be placed on the house even with a mortgage. When the house is sold, the mortgage company will get thier $$ first, then the lien.


If it is a reverse mortgage, from my understanding, they actually don't own the house any longer the lender does but they are allowed to live there till they pass away. Now it may not be the same terms,

I would look into bankruptcy, that way they will not have to put up with them any longer and they can not upset them at home.

They do need to set up a budget that they can live on with their income.