Judgements, Liens, and Other Legal Issues
Judgements, Liens, and Other Legal Issues
In the field of debt collection and delinquencies, judgments and judgment risk factors are a very real concern. Will a creditor sue and seek legal judgment against me? If he does, what type judgment might it be? What exactly is a judgment and what can I do about it? These are just some of the questions answered in this judgment article. But please note. The content of this article is for consumer knowledge of judgments and legal lawsuits only and it is adopt the reader will act responsibly towards his/her debt.
RISK FACTORS
Collectors must stay by the their state’s Statute of Limitations (SOL) for the amount of time to sue a debtor for payments. Therefore a consumer’s first step is determine if the SOL for collecting a debt has past.
If the SOL has not passed, the consumer must weigh the risk bourgeois of a judgment against them when determining if they should pay a delinquent debt. A judgment could grant the creditor to garnish consequence or hire an dominance to come get your property. However, it is doable it might not be in the creditor’s ideal interest to do so. Sometimes it is simply too much time and expense for a creditor to take action against you. But the possibility does exist.
As said at Credit Info Center: “The risks of judgments, garnishments, and property seizures must be properly balanced against the likelihood that such drastic collection measures will ever happen. The risk, and the decision to take that risk, are entirely yours if you’re in such a position.”
DEFINITIONS
JUDGEMENT – a decision issued by a court at the end of a lawsuit. If in the favor of the creditor it not only verifies the debt but can increase the debt by adding interest, court costs, collection fees, and attorney fees an might extend up to 20 years on a credit file. A decision in favor of the debtor makes the debt uncollectible and might include reimbursement of legal costs to the debtor.
JUDGEMENT PROOF – a debtor has tiny or no property that a creditor can legally take to collect in the foreseeable future.
PRE-JUDGEMENT ATTACHMENT – a legal procedure which lets an unsecured creditor tie up property before obtaining a court judgment.
DEFAULT JUDGEMENT – If a consumer is sued and does not file papers in response to the lawsuit in the prescribed time limit, the plaintiff can ask the court to enter a judgement against the debtor and is an automatic loss of the case. A default judgment can be set aside but this is uncommon and circumstances must be notable to justify such a turn.
LIEN – a lien is a notice that a creditor has attached property. The consumer can't sell the property without paying off the creditor because the lien makes the “title” cloudy.
SECURED DEBT Property that is bought using the property itself as collateral on the loan is considered secured. Credit cards are considered unsecured but tax debt is considered secured.
What can a creditor do?
Creditors from secured debts might be healthy to obtain a judgement for repossessions. Mortgagors can depose and landlords can evict. Garnishment or taking of consequence is an option of any creditor. The decision to sue a debtor is usually based on the amount owed (usually over 0), the cost of getting it back, and whether there is a reasonable expectation that something can be collected.
If the matter can be sorted out with the mortal making the claim before it goes to court, it will be cheaper. If you lose in court, you risk having to pay the other side’s costs. Even if you concur that you owe the money but don’t concur on the amount, you can try to negotiate the matter before it goes to court. If you reach an agreement, you will need to submit an agreement as to judgment form in the court, which tells the court that there is no need to have the matter heard.
Some judgments can be fought by challenging their validity. For example, default judgments at times can be reversed by claiming the debtor was never served or was ignorant of the facts. Before reversal, however, you must back up the claim with facts. Judgments which include selected stipulations, can be reversed if the debtor can establish coercion or misrepresentation. Of course winning an appeal in a higher court can reverse a decision as well.
Payment of Judgments
Once a judgment has been issued, settlement might still be an option if the debtor and creditor can come to terms. This is often the case when dealing with a temporary judgment-proof debtor who will have assets freeing in the future. The creditor might want the debt cleared sooner and might be willing to settle.
Contrary to favourite belief, a judgment can be removed from a credit file by the creditor. This requires a clean amount of work and therefore the creditor would have to be motivated to do so in some way.
Readers will probably be interested to know Mike, the author of this article, also offers a free debt elimination mini-course via e-mail. You can enroll at Debt Free In 7.5 Years.
Mike has been an World wide web Guide/Writer in the field of Credit/Debt Management for over 10 years. His site was awarded Ideal Of Net by Forbes Publication from 2000 to 2005 with site visitation doubling to over 500,000 average views per month in the last year.
He has also offered debt elimination seminars to businesses and community colleges for the last 9 years, and has written for several publications, and has been interviewed on the broadcasting a number of times.http://learncreditmanagement.com/
Can a default judgement be contested or reversed by the Court?
Question by sparkyfirestar: Can a default judgement be contested or reversed by the Court?
Searching court records, I was surprised to find a judgement by default of almost ,000. The Registrar of Contractors petitioned the court for a judgement on my ex-husband and Jane Doe; individually and as husband and wife, dba XXXX Home Repairs. We were married at the time he had the business and we divorced 2 years ago. The Registrar was asking to be paid the amount they paid the homeowners for “unacceptable work.” The court allowed a request to change Jane Doe to my name. The judgement was ordered by the court on me. My ex husband was licensed by the Say Registrar and had a business in his study as “Sole Proprietor”. If my study would of been on the business license, Jane Doe would not of been necessary. He was responsible for the work performed. Yet he is not responsible for the judgement?
Best answer:
Answer by mongoose7485
Some judgments can be fought by challenging their validity. For example default judgments at times can be reversed by claiming the debtor was never served or was ignorant of the facts. Before reversal, however, you must back up the claim with facts. Judgments which include selected requirements can be reversed if the debtor can establish coercion or misrepresentation. Of course winning an appeal in a higher court can reverse a decision as well.
What do you think? Answer below!
If a company received a default judgement against me, can they take property, investments held with boyfried?
Question by metropolis D: If a company received a default judgement against me, can they take property, investments held with boyfried?
If a default judgement is received by Unifund Partners CCR against someone, can the judgement creditor take investment accounts and property held jointly with your boyfriend?
Best answer:
Answer by OG
Yes
What do you think? Answer below!
What can a creditor do to collect money from unsecured debt once a judgement has been issued by the court?
Question by stemwad12954: What can a creditor do to collect money from unsecured debt once a judgement has been issued by the court?
My girl friend can't and will not pay a credit card debt for ,000 and has recieved a summons from a sheriff to appear in court. If she does not appear a judgement will be against her. Can they attach or take any of her assets or money from bank accounts to pay back the loan?
Best answer:
Answer by CatDad
A judgement would allow them to freeze checking accounts and garnish wages. If she has a home they might place a lien on the property
DO NOT be a no-show in court under any circumstances whatsoever. Not showing up is the worst thing she can possibly do. Even if you are frightened….or you’re sick with a 102 degree fever…or if you think that you’d loose, show up anyway! If you don’t, the other side will get a default judgement and they will get this on THEIR terms. Creditors LOVE when you don’t show up in court. They will paraphernalia on all sorts of add-on fees and the amount of the judgment could end up being two or three times the actual amount of the debt. They could freeze her checking account. Even worse…they might be healthy to garnish consequence and if you don’t show up the judge will allow the max. allowable remuneration garnishment…which can be as high as 25% of her wages.
On the court date: Bring complete documentation of your income and living expenses: Pay stubs and duplicates of bills. Even if you loose, you can use this to negotiate much more favorable repayment terms.
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Regarding the advise below: no… as long as she shows up in court and tries to negotiate with them they cant garnish her assets or anything.
This is completely incorrect. Showing up in court could help you to negotiate a much lower rate of garnishment…but it can't stop them from getting a garnishment.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Q&A: How long will it take for divorce to be finalized w/ default judgement?
Question by sweet_sunshine_74: How long will it take for divorce to be finalized w/ default judgement?
I’m in Florida, I *think* my ex is in Oklahoma. I filed for divorce, the papers were served to him on Might 3rd, and he had 30 days to respond. He did not respond, so my lawyer is now taking the papers to court to file a default judgement against him. What will happen next? Will I get what I asked for in the papers? How long will it take?
By the way, there are two kids involved, I have custody (he’s had no contact in 4 months or more), there’s no joint property (just some debt).
Best answer:
Answer by webned
After the judgment is signed the court still retains jurisdiction of the matter for a period of time. Usually its 30 days. You’ll get whatever is in your possession that is awarded to you, and you should be healthy to obtain things in accounts held by others (savings, checking accounts, etc.) If your ex has things he is indebted to turn over to you, you ask for him to comply with the decree, and if he doesn’t, get your lawyer to file a motion to hold him in contempt. He then will have the choice of compying or going to jail.
Give your answer to this question below!
Q&A: How soon after default judgement can they garnish wages in CA?
Question by thizzlepr: How soon after default judgement can they garnish consequence in CA?
My husband recieved a request for default judgement yesterday, how soon can they get a remuneration garnishment.
Best answer:
Answer by Scott K
Immediately. After the court allows the judgment.
Add your own answer in the comments!
