Yahoo Finance
American households are almost $19 trillion dollars in debt — and debt collectors are going to great lengths to get that money back (1).
A recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that more debt holders are suing debtors in court to get their money back (2).
Debt lawsuits dropped in number during the pandemic, but have been climbing rapidly since.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 —6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake —here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks.Here's where their money is actually going Pew tracked eight states' debt filings from 2019 to 2025.
Of those, only Virginia had fewer filings last year than in 2019.
Missouri had the highest spike since 2019 — with cases nearly tripling in 2025.
It's not a coincidence that debt lawsuits have gone up along with credit card delinquencies and living costs (3).
But these lawsuits tend to be hard for consumers to navigate — and can come with hefty consequences for failing to do so.
Here's what happens when you're sued for outstanding debt, and what states are doing to make the process better for consumers.
Lester Bird, senior manager at the Pew Charitable Trusts and lead author of the report, said that around 70% of debt lawsuits end in a default judgement on behalf of the creditor.
Not all default judgements are due to a borrower not showing up in court, but many of them are.
"We know that people rarely engage in these cases, and when they don't the consequences are severe," Bird told the Wall Street Journal (4).
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
Comments
Post a Comment