What is a Supplementary Proceedings

If you do not appear when served with a summons or citation, then you are correct that the court may issue a body attachment for you to be arrested and brought to court. If you do appear, then generally you would not end up in jail absent unusual facts or circumstances (such as that you ignored the prior 6 summonses or that you lie to the court). Often, the attorney for the creditor to whom you owe money will speak with you in the hallway outside court after the case is first called on the “calendar” (a list of the cases to be heard that day). The lawyer will ask about your ability to pay the judgment, and may try to get you to agree to a schedule to pay the judgment. But he or she also may ask to examine you in open court as to your ability to pay. Some judges will conduct that type of questioning themselves. Bottom line: comply with the court order and appear. A judge will not put you in jail just because you have no money to pay the judgment. And if you are collecting state or federal benefits, some or all of your income may be exempt from attachment. Best, LawyersCollaborative Note: The above information does not constitute legal advice. Unless a written Collaborative Representation Agreement has been signed, neither LawyersCollaborative nor any of its Staff General Counsel is your legal representative.

Your question cannot be answered with the information that you provide. Further, I get the impression there may be some misunderstanding about some key concepts. Please give a more detailed explanation of your problem and what your are contemplating and why, and hopefully someone here can help.

Supplementary Proceedings in Florida where I am licensed is a process where you are to appear to respond to questions after a final judgment has been entered against you for the judgment creditor to find out what you own. You probably have been requested to bring documents. The proceeding is conducted before a judge. If the judgment debtor shows up but without the documents, and does not have a satisfactory explanation as to why the documents are not present, then the debtor can be held in contempt of court. If the debtor refuses to answer a question, he/she can be held in contempt of court. Remember, in America, you can not go to jail for not paying on a debt. You can go to jail if you disobey a Court order. So, if you received an Order, or a Subpoena, directing you to go, and directing you to bring documents, you should comply, or have a darn good reason as to why you didn't. It may be that certain documents do not exist. Or, you do not have care, custody or control. An example is a car title, which would be held by the lien holder. If you do not have a tax return because you lost it, then you can get a copy from IRS or your tax preparer. Good luck getting through this process. Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.