EliteLegalForms.com offers free legal forms to pro se defendants who are being sued for collection of an unsecured debt. If you are being sued by someone trying to recover a debt in either small claims court or the court of lowest jurisdiction in your state, this site will provide you with the Answer document to file with the court and instructions on the filing procedure.
The documents and forms are organized by state and category and can be previewed and downloaded individually. Each Pdf. form is easily personalized and printer friendly. Please use the information as a guide to litigation without legal representation. These tools are not intended to replace or eliminate the need for professional council. Seeking professional legal advice before taking any action is recommended.
Many creditors and debt collection agencies are turning to the legal system to collect debts. Our forms cover lawsuits dealing with debt only.
The company or creditor initiating the lawsuit is called the plaintiff. A plaintiff can be a credit card company, bank, loan company, or any other person or company that says you did not pay money you owe. The person or company that you owe money to is called a creditor. Many times you may not recognize the name of the company suing you. The original creditor may have sold your debt to another business like a collection agency or third party debt buyer. These are generally referred to as third party debt collectors. They are asserting that they bought your loan and now have the right to initiate a lawsuit against you in court for a loan that you owe to someone else.
You are the Defendant or debtor. You have the right to defend yourself in court. If you are served with a Summons and Complaint, you must go to court and file an answer. The answer tells the court of your intention to defend the case and your affirmative defenses or reasons the plaintiff must not win the case.
Our forms are intended for use by defendants who have been sued by a creditor in a small case, typically one in which the amount sought by the creditor is within the jurisdiction of the lowest level court in the state. You must determine whether the suit brought against you is in the proper court and within its jurisdictional dollar limit. In most instances such a suit (often called a complaint, petition, or a pleading) simply alleges that the Defendant is indebted to the Plaintiff in a certain amount. The form answer requires you to admit or generally deny the existence, validity and amount of the debt. A general denial of the debt will mean that they creditor must appear and present evidence that you do in fact owe the money.