If a person is a modeh b'miktzas, we suspect he's buying time to repay, so according to the pasuk, we're mashbia him on the amount he claims to be patur from, and if he refuses shevuah, we're m'chaiv him on the full amount. what if he then says "I don't have the money." What are Beis Din's options then, and also, are they the same exact options they would have had, had he simply admitted he didn't have the money up front, or would such an admission have helped him in some way?
anonymous, sa
The lender has a right to be repaid from any property belonging to the borrower. However, Beis Din must ensure that the borrower is left with basic necessities, including thirty days supply of food and twelve months worth of clothes.
The Geonim (after the Gemara) instituted that the Beis Din make a Cherem on anyone (the borrower or others) who are aware of possessions' of the borrower and do not inform Beis Din.
I am not aware of any difference in Halachah due to the fact that the borrower denied the debt at first.
Dov Freedman