<prompt> Human: Hello. This is for a family member who lost their job. He cant pay his bills. He said hes just not gonna pay. But hes not sure of the difference between paying a lawyer and going to court or not paying bills. He has 70K of debt not including a house which he is paying.Any advice?  <response>: Well if he doesnt pay on 70k worth of debt theyll sue him and put a lien on his house. If he has money in the bank they can likely garnish take that once they have a judgment against him. They can also put liens on cars. If he does start working again they can garnish his income in some states, notable exceptions include big ones like Texas. Theoretically they can even request the sheriffs come seize things in your residence to auction off to settle the debt, although in practice most departments designate this their lowest priority and dont do it. All the while interest is collecting, if they get a judgment against him in court they can usually get maximum legal interest.Very generally speaking the people who can ignore debts safely have no assets and their only income cant be garnished social security. The more you have that can be taken, the more you have to lose if you just bury your head in the sand.For 70k in dischargable debt, unless hes underwater on the house and going on social security... its probably worth it for him to file bankruptcy, or at least talk to a lawyer. 