Sounds like the forum is getting full of these 'feel good, gee I wish' responders.....
Erin79: neither of the responses you have gotten so far are correct or fully factual.
Your question was, "Can the judge order me to sell my car?"
The short answer is no. The judge can't ORDER you to do anything specific. But, here is what will very probably happen:
You have been 'threatened' with a lawsuit. Whether that actually happens or not is in the hands of the creditor. If the caller was actually the creditor, they CAN take legal action against you. However, if it was a 'debt collector', he generally can NOT take legal action against you (unless he is actually the owner or authorized to act by the 'true' creditor).
Now, lets assume that he has the right to sue you and does so. You will receive a notification of the lawsuit. Since you don't seem to deny the validity of the claim, you should at least show up in court to see what happens and to protect any rights that you might have. Lets assume that the creditor prevails and now has a judgment against you.
A judgment is not like an 'everyday debt', it has some special allowances that can be used to enforce payment. Though you don't tell us where this is, your 'location' says Indiana, so lets assume that is the laws that will apply.
Indiana (this is written from the Plaintiff's point of view):
"If you are the winning party, the judgment entered by the court is a legal determination that another person owes you a certain sum of money, and court costs.
Your judgment will be recorded (i.e., entered and indexed) in the judgment docket of this county. At the time your judgment is recorded it becomes a
lien on any real property owned by the debtor in this county now or in the future. For your judgment to be a lien on real property in another county in this state it must be recorded in that county. This is done by obtaining a certified copy of the judgment and delivering it, along with the necessary fee, to the Clerk of the county in question for registering in that Clerk's judgment docket. The judgment will then become a lien on the debtor's real property in that county. Once the judgment is recorded, the judgment lien exists for a period of ten (10) years. At the end of the ten year period from its entry, the lien against real property will expire. However, the lien can be extended for another ten year period by bringing an action on a judgement within the ten year statute of limitations found in Ind. Code 34-1-2-2(6) prior to the expiration of the lien.
Although the judgment lien expires after ten years as a general rule, the judgment itself may be enforced for up to twenty (20) years after its entry. The expiration of the lien on real property will prevent the judgment creditor from collecting his or her judgment through execution on real property. After the expiration of twenty years a judgment is deemed satisfied under Ind. Code 34-1-2-14. The presumption of satisfaction is not conclusive and can be rebutted by the judgment creditor.
Collecting the judgment is your responsibility. The length of time it will take to collect will depend upon both your diligence and the debtor's ability to pay. When the judgment is entered, payment may be ordered in full or by installments. In addition, the court may order that the payments be made to the clerk's office. If payments are made to the clerk's office, neither that office nor the court will monitor payments, but you may have to call the clerk's office to ask about payments. If payment is not made, you have several legal methods of collection.
Filing a Proceedings Supplemental is the first step. When Proceedings Supplemental is filed, the debtor is ordered to appear in court and answer questions under oath about his or her ability to pay based upon income, assets, liabilities, family size, etc. If you know that the debtor has a job and know the address of his or her employer, you may ask the clerk to issue Interrogatories to the employer when you file the Proceedings Supplemental.
The court can determine from the answers to the Interrogatories whether the debtor has wages which can be garnished.
At the hearing, you will have the opportunity to ask the debtor, or inform the court, about the debtor's ability to pay. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge may order the following:
* the Defendant to pay the judgment in full or in installments (the installments may be modified at any time in the future);
* the Defendant to supply the court with current information regarding employment status and address;
* the garnishment of the debtor's earnings;
* execution against the debtor's personal property;
At any time in the future if the debtor fails to follow a court order or if you have reason to believe that the debtor's ability to pay has improved, you may ask that the debtor be ordered to come back to court. This can be done throughout the lifetime of the judgment.
If the debtor is served with notice of the hearing and does not attend, the court, at the winnings party's request, may issue a body attachment and
have the debtor arrested and held in jail until another date for the hearing can be scheduled.
If the debtor cannot be found to be served with the order to appear, the winning party can request that the hearing be continued for a period of time
to allow more time to find the debtor and to serve him or her with notice of the hearing."
So, Erin79, you can see that the process of enforcing a judgment can be a pretty serious affair against you in the future. And, lets not forget that the judgment will include attorney fees (if applicable), court costs PLUS interest until paid.
