I am located in Massachusetts. I owed money to a college for tuition for $4500. Basically I got a call from my parents have received a lette...

Question

I am located in Massachusetts. I owed money to a college for tuition for $4500.

Basically I got a call from my parents have received a letter from a lawyer stating that stated that I had a capias arrest warrant and a constable will be looking for me to bring me to a contempt hearing. I have not recieved any notification of any court proceedings agaist me since I have not lived in the address for several years and have been bouncing around living in other places.I have been unemployed for a while and just recently obtained a good well paying job. However I do not have the $4500. What do I do in this circumstance?. Can I be jailed for contempt and made to pay via time served. I would hate to lose my job and freedom over what is essentially "debtors prison"

Answer

The short answer is - if you contact the lawyers' office and make a payment arrangement with them, they might recall the capias.

Typically the answer to your last concern is no.

As a side note, you should keep your creditors and the court (now that your docket number should be on the notice received from your parents) of a current address at all times so that notices are not missed.