I received a summons to collect a large credit card debt I cannot pay due to financial hardship. How do I answer when I do owe the money but just have no ability to pay it?

Inability to pay is not a defense. Can you gve us more details about the debt and the plaintiff?

The debt is a large credit card balance owed to citibank who is the plaintiff. I need to answer the summons and do not know how to. I haven't paid the bill in about 10 months and have no way to pay it.

You need to file a Notice of Appearance & an Answer with the court and mail a copy to the Plaintiff's lawyer. You also need to file & mail a Certificate of Service so the court knows you filed your answer w/ the Plaintiff.

In your "Answer" you can claim certain "affirmative defenses" that can help you in your case. It sounds as if the SOL is not up although there may be other defenses that can be raised, it is harder to fight an original creditor. There is a lot of advice at CreditBoards.com - Credit Help, Credit Repair Tips, News, Forums about possible defenses and you can purchase an "Answer" template at E-Document Package.

At the very least if you answer their claim and go to court you'll likely have the opportunity to arrange a payment plan and a reduced settlement. If you do nothing, they will win for the full amount.
Good luck!

Frankly, your best bet is to forestall the court case and try to negotiate a settlement.

As mir said its much harder to fight the original creditor.