Judgements before bankruptcy

[gak555]

What exactly does it mean to vacate a judgement after you file ? My concern is that I am waiting until October to file and I am concerned about having a judgement filed against me prior to filing.

[BKinFL]

Hi Gak.

If at all possible, file before the judgment is entered. If you think you are in danger of having a judgment entered against you, it is best to prevent it altogether.

If you absolutely cannot afford to file right now, the worst thing you could do is not show at your court date. Go to the hearing and tell the judge you are planning to file for BK. Then at least he will give you more time. If you fail to show then a default judgment will be entered.

When I filed for BK 2 years ago I had received a summons. I immediately met with an attorney who I paid in full the same day. He said he would immediately send a response to the summons which would halt the hearing. Well, what he didn't tell me was that I first had to complete my BK petition before any notices of BK could be sent. By the time I finished gathering all my creditior information, the court hearing had taken place. I trusted him to take care of the situation but in the end I was left with a judgment on my credit report. Completely his fault. Now the BK took care of the debt, but there is still a judgment on my credit report. I don't know if I can vacate it or not. Maybe someone else can help you with that question.

Basically I just wanted to tell you to try to file before any judgments are entered, and make sure your attorney answers the summons before the hearing date. Don't just trust him because you may get screwed like I did.

At the very least show up at any hearings you have coming up and tell the judge you are filing for BK.

[CindyLou]

Bring your bk papers to the court house where your judgement if filed. Ask the clerk for the form to vacate a judgement, pay the fee, and file the form and you should be set.

[down and out]

Remember: you don't need an attorney to file bankruptcy!

[NYCountry]

I never showed up at any of my judgment hearings. I called their lawyers and chatted with them but there was nothing I could say at the court that would have made any difference about the judgments. I own a house so they get to put judgments on it. I have 3 or 4 that I will have to make sure are removed after I am finished with this.

[brokeinmichigan]

I had a judgement filed a month or two before we filed BK. I filed a petition to stop the judgement "based on pending BK". That delayed things for about 2 or 3 weeks. I showed up at the hearing and when my turn to talk came, I told the judge we were "in the process of BK". He asked if we had filed yet, which we had not. I told him we had just had our initial meeting with the atty and would be filing in the next couple of weeks. The judge ruled in favor of the creditor and my wages were garnished. However, the garnishment stopped immediately upon filing BK, as our atty notified that creditor.

So, if you can get filed for BK before the hearing date, it'll be less hectic, but even if they garnish your wages, it should stop as soon as you file. Just remind your atty (or the paralegal!) that you have the active judgement against you, so they can file the appropriate paperwork and get things stopped.

Good luck...

Hoping for brighter skies ahead...

[GoingDown]

I never showed up at any of my judgment hearings. I called their lawyers and chatted with them but there was nothing I could say at the court that would have made any difference about the judgments. I own a house so they get to put judgments on it. I have 3 or 4 that I will have to make sure are removed after I am finished with this.

Unfortunately, if you own real estate and they get a judgment lien against it BEFORE you file BK, the lien will attach to the non-exempt equity in your home, and BK will not get rid of that lien. The lien will survive the BK, and will still have to paid off if you sell your house, etc.

People who DON'T own real estate BEFORE filing BK, don't have to worry about this issue. The judgment can be easily vacated after BK.