Imprisonment For Not Paying Bills
Recently, we’ve received a lot of calls from potential clients that are terrified of being thrown in jail for not paying their debts. Clients often contact me and ask me if it is possible to be jailed for not paying their bills. The direct answer is “no”. There are no debtor’s prisons in the United States of America.
However, there is a caveat. If you are sued on an account and you fail to show for a Court Date, it is possible that the Judge could issue a Capias Warrant or a Body Attachment as a result of you not showing up to your court date. Most often, this is a result of one’s failure to respond to an asset inquiry, or as it is referred to in Ohio, a Judgment Debtor Exam.
If you are sued and you fail to appear in the case, most likely the Creditor will win the suit (get a judgment). If this happens, they then have the opportunity to seize certain assets of yours to satisfy the judgment. In certain states, the Creditor has the ability to force you to appear in Court and disclose all of your assets. If you fail to appear at this hearing, the Court may issue a Show Cause Order, or something similar, forcing you to appear in front of the Court and explain why you didn’t appear. If you fail to appear at this hearing, there is a chance the Judge will issue a Warrant for your Detention/Capias Warrant/Body Attachment, if the State allows.
In my experience, the Sheriff/police officers don’t enforce these warrants unless you are pulled over for speeding or caught committing another crime. Its unlikely that the Sheriff is going to show up to your door to detain you.
This is, in my experience, the only way you will ever get placed in Jail for not paying your bills; by ignoring/not reading your mail regarding Court dates and showing up. As you can see, you won’t ever be arrested for not paying your debts; you could get arrested, however, for failing to appear at a hearing if a Judge orders you to appear.
Moral of the story: if you have a court date, show up. Don’t be afraid to state your position, ask the judge questions, etc. You will never go to Jail for not paying your bills; only for ignoring the Orders of a Court.
Also, please keep in mind; all states are different. The purpose of this blog is not to provide legal advice. If you are threatened by a Creditor or Collection Agency, contact a lawyer in your state. We are authorized to practice in dozens of states and would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Jeffrey Hyslip
