Civil and Criminal!
You have been ordered to appear for a "Debtor's Exam" under oath because the judgment creditor's attempts to collect on the judgment previously entered against you have so far been unsuccessful and they want to dig deeper into your ability to satisfy the judgment.
The onus is on the creditors, not you, to prove that you have the means to pay and they very well submit affidavits or other supporting evidence that you do indeed have assets, or there is reasonable grounds to believe that assets exists which you have fraudulently transferred or conveyed in order to avoid the judgment.
You may also be subpoenaed for production of certain documents and be served with Plaintiff's post-judgment INTERROGATORIES which are 35 to 45 direct questions about every aspect of your financial life.
Even though this is a civil proceeding, it is good to bear in mind that if you are a no-show, the Plaintiff can file a motion to COMPEL and if you ignore that order, Plaintiff can then file a motion for a Writ of Body Attachment; which is basically an arrest warrant. Here, if the court thinks you may be a no-show again, you will be held in custody until another hearing is scheduled to ensure appearance and you will need to place a Bond (a dollar amount requested by the Plaintiff in his writ motion) with the court if you are to be release on your own recognizance.
Last but not least; the examination is summary and if no assets are found, the court has no power to order anything other than who pays the cost of the hearing, the honor in which case will go to the Plaintiff. If assest are found, the judge can then make orders for them to be seized and the judgment satisfied accordingly
fredrikklaw
