No Indiana Debtor's Prison

            When folks have decided to contact me at Halcomb Singler to discuss bankruptcy they are usually at the end of their financial rope.  They are stressed out by phone calls, freaked out by threats from creditors and generally unhappy about their financial situation.  Some people even afraid that they will be arrested because they are unable to pay their debts.

             I can assure you that there is no debtor's prison in Indiana.  No one is going to come arrest you because you aren't able to make your credit card or medical bill payment.  That does not mean that creditors are without options and will just forget about the debt either.  When you owe a creditor money they are typically going to call you a number of times to see if you can make payment on the debt (and sometimes they add in other threats and various insults).  They are also going to send you several letters asking you to pay and threatening legal action.  If that doesn't work a creditor will normally file a lawsuit.  The lawsuit paperwork will be delivered to you via certified mail or via the sheriff (no the sheriff's deputy delivering the paperwork is not going to arrest you when he or she drops off the complaint).  When you receive the lawsuit in Indiana you have either 20 or 23 days to answer if the complaint was filed in plenary court.  If the complaint was filed in small claims you will need to attend a listed court date.

             Once they have received a lawsuit many people do nothing.  This is an understandable reaction considering they are likely already stressed out and not sure how to respond to a complaint.  If a person who has been sued does nothing the creditor will eventually receive a judgment.  In Indiana, once a judgment has been entered the creditor may ask the Court to set a hearing for proceedings supplemental.  This is a hearing at which the creditor can ask where you work, where you bank, what assets you own, etc.  The important thing about a Court's order setting a hearing for proceedings supplemental is that it will state on the bottom that "FAILURE TO APPEAR MAY RESULT IN A WARRANT BEING ISSUED FOR YOUR ARREST," or something similar to that.  If at that time you fail to appear for the hearing and the court's record shows that you were served with notice of the hearing then a warrant may be issued for your arrest, called a writ of body attachment.

               Now you are wondering why I said that there is no debtors prison in Indiana when you can have a warrant issued for your arrest for failing to appear at a hearing about a debt owed.  It's because no warrant is issued just because you owe money.  It is issued because you failed to appear at a hearing that is court-ordered.  If you appear at the hearing and have no assets that the creditor can take to satisfy the judgment then you are free to go on your way.  The moral of the story is that if you receive a notice setting a court hearing and ordering you to appear you had better appear or receive a continuance of that hearing.  Otherwise, you are risking a warrant being issued for your arrest.  Normally, law enforcement have more important things to do than go to a person's home who has received a warrant for failing to appear for a civil case, however, if you are pulled over for a traffic stop they will take you to jail.  And one time I do remember a person with a body attachment (the name for these warrants) being arrested at his home.

               The fact that there is no prison where people who owe debts in inline with United States Bankruptcy law.  Overall, in America those who have debt are afforded the opportunity to "hit the reset button" and file bankruptcy in order to receive a fresh start and move on with their lives.  While filing bankruptcy should not be done without careful consideration and personalized legal advice, it is not immoral and it is not the end of the world.  If you live in Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Tipton, Noblesville, Zionsville or any other suburb of Indianapolis give me a call to set up your free initial consultation at (317) 575-8222.  I would be happy to meet with you to discuss whether I believe bankruptcy would be helpful in your situation and to answer any questions you may have about the process.

Halcomb Singler, LLP, is a debt relief agency.  It helps people file for bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code.  No attorney-client relationship with the firm of Halcomb Singler, LLP, is created through this blog. Also, please note that Erika Singler is an attorney licensed in Indiana and does not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so.  The information contained in this blog is general in nature and should not be relied upon for the circumstances of any individual(s) or businesses.