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How to Prepare for Court

Sarah Edwards | April 23, 2024

Sarah Edwards
Legal Expert
Sarah Edwards, BS

Sarah Edwards is a professional researcher and writer specializing in legal content. An Emerson College alumna, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from the prestigious Boston institution.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Many lawsuits are settled before they get to court. But if you and the debt collector can’t come to a settlement agreement beforehand, you’ll get to argue your case in the courtroom. To prepare for small claims court, read and respond to court notices, attend hearings, understand the process, file necessary documents, and prepare your case with evidence and questions.

Summary: Many lawsuits are settled before they get to court. But if you and the debt collector can’t come to a settlement agreement beforehand, you’ll get to argue your case in the courtroom. That’s not as scary as it sounds. SoloSuit shows you how to prepare for small claims court.

Most people have seen courtrooms on TV, but many haven’t seen the inside of one. And if you’ve gotten a notice that a debt collector is suing you, it’s easy to panic. It might even be tempting to ignore the notice and hope the lawsuit goes away.

Don’t do this! Always read the notice carefully and respond. If you’re summoned to the courtroom for a hearing, always make sure you attend. If you don’t, the creditor will likely win by default, and you might have your wages garnished.

To learn more about how to prepare for court, we asked an attorney for some pointers. In this video, we’ll share attorney tips and tricks on preparing for your court appearance.

Don’t like reading? Check out the full interview with attorney, Sarah Wolk, here:

Understand the general process

If you’ve spent time preparing your case (and especially if you’re going into a trial), you already have a pretty thorough understanding of your own court case. That’s important, but you also should have a general knowledge of how the process works. Here’s a quick overview:

  • Know Where to Go: Your case paperwork should tell you what courtroom you’ll be in (as well as the judge’s name).
  • Arrive Early: You usually must check in with a court clerk beforehand, so arrive early!
  • Wait for the Judge: Once you’re checked in, you’ll usually wait in the courtroom.
  • Listen for Your Case: When your case is called, you can approach the bench — make sure you address the judge as “Your Honor.”
  • Let the Judge Lead the Court Hearing: The judge is the one in charge, so make sure you wait your turn to speak.
  • Wait for a Ruling: The hearing ends with a ruling (sometimes that’s a final decision, and sometimes it involves setting another hearing).

The judge won’t expect you to have the same familiarity with the courtroom as an attorney would. However, when you take the time to learn how to prepare for small claims court, you can relax a little — and the judge will likely appreciate your effort, too.

File an Answer to your debt lawsuit.

Be familiar with court guidelines

Every court has its own rules and procedures. For instance, many have dress codes. Depending on where you live, your local court may have a website that lists rules and procedures. If it doesn’t, it’s a good idea to check at the clerk’s office.

In some cases, violating court rules can result in fines and other consequences, so make sure you read these guidelines carefully as a part of your trial preparation.

Know the facts

It might sound obvious at first, but one of the best ways to prepare for a hearing on your case is to understand the facts of your case. We don’t just mean the basics (like the name of the collector who’s suing you and the total amount they say you owe).

To give yourself the best chances of success, make sure you have a deep familiarity with all of your court documents. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • What did the plaintiff (the collector) say in their Complaint against you?
  • Are those claims accurate?
  • When you sent your Answer, how did you respond?
  • What evidence does the collector say they have against you?
  • What evidence do you have in support of your case?

If you do end up having to argue your case in the courtroom, knowing your case like the back of your hand will pay off. It’s easy to get anxious in front of a judge, so the better you understand your case, the less likely you are to forget key facts when it matters most.

Have you been sued for debt? Settle it with the help of SoloSettle.

Read communications from the court

If you learned you were being sued through a process server, you probably received a formidable stack of paper. It can be overwhelming at first, but make sure you read all of it! In some cases, you’ll need to file a specific form ahead of a hearing.

Prepare questions and evidence for your hearing

Debt lawsuit trials might not be as exciting as the trials on TV, but some things work more or less the same way. Usually, you’ll only go to the trial stage of a debt lawsuit if you’re very confident you can win.

If you’re representing yourself, you don’t have an attorney to assemble evidence for you — you need to learn how to prepare for court without a lawyer. Similarly, if any witnesses will be called, you should plan out what questions you’ll ask.

When you gather evidence, think about what you need to prove that you don’t owe the debt. Let’s look at an example.

Example: Annie is being sued by Swampland Debt Collectors Inc. for a $1,000 medical bill. Annie knows that she paid this bill already, and she needs to prove it in court. She gets one key piece of evidence: a receipt from the original creditor (her doctor’s office) showing that she paid the debt. To make sure she has as much evidence as possible, she decides to ask her doctor’s office if they can write a letter explaining that she has already paid.


Make the right defense the right way with SoloSuit.

Do you have to go to court?

Knowing how to prepare for small claims court as a defendant is an absolute must if you’ve been sued. But do you actually have to go to court for a debt lawsuit? Not necessarily. Most lawsuits are settled at some point before going to trial.

If you work out a settlement with the debt collector before the initial hearing, you might be able to avoid going to court altogether.

Want to settle your debt and be done with it? Check out SoloSettle by SoloSuit.

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Let SoloSuit help you resolve your debt once and for all

Getting sued for a debt can be scary. There are documents to file, deadlines to meet, and sometimes, there are even court hearings to attend. And in most cases, when you’re facing a debt lawsuit, you don’t have the spare cash to hire an attorney.

Fortunately, with SoloSuit, you don’t need one! When you use our services, you don’t need to know how to prepare legal documents for court; we’ll do it for you. Today, you can get one step closer to a debt-free life.

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