How do judgements affect C7?

[bf2bf]

I know it varies, but in general how long before a bank or CA sues for unpaid CCs. (and what's JDB?)

Say they win the judgments, does filing C7 after those judgments are won eliminate these debts the same way as if they were pre-judgmnt?

Also, in a no garnishment state are the judgments as "scary" or does it still make sense to file before any lawsuits.

Finally, is there any advantage/disadvantage in closing all the cards before stopping payments on them?

[backtoschool]

Judgements are discharged in bankruptcy, but you have to file separate paper work with the court that issued the judgement to get the judgement vacated and off your credit reports.

In a "no-garnishment" state, creditors will often go after your bank account.

The better shape your credit report is in before you file (ie judgements, collections, etc...) the easier it will be to repair it after you file and the quicker your credit score will go up after you are discharged. (If this matters to you at all...)

[bf2bf]

Judgements are discharged in bankruptcy, but you have to file separate paper work with the court that issued the judgement to get the judgement vacated and off your credit reports.

In a "no-garnishment" state, creditors will often go after your bank account.

The better shape your credit report is in before you file (ie judgements, collections, etc...) the easier it will be to repair it after you file and the quicker your credit score will go up after you are discharged. (If this matters to you at all...)

Thanks

Not that there is much money in the accounts, but if the bank accounts are joint, can they touch them?

[backtoschool]

Thanks

Not that there is much money in the accounts, but if the bank accounts are joint, can they touch them?

If the person whose name is on the judgement is on the account, they can touch the account.

[music12]

another reason to avoid having judgments is that in some cases the creditor may get a "judgment lien" which, if perfected before the bk, would survive the bk.

[AngelinaCat]

And if you get a judgment against you, and you have an asset worth more than what its exempt value is (Florida has a $1000.00 exemption on an automobile) the judgement holder can file a 'lis pendens' and after filing a bond with the sheriff's office, file a 'writ of attachment' and have the sheriff's department seize your vehicle for sale at auction to help satisfy the judgment. If it sells for more than 1K, then you get the first 1K as your exempt portion, and the rest goes to satisfying the judgment.

See the following thread for what your fellow poster is going through:

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=43637

Good luck to you.

[OhioFiler]

another reason to avoid having judgments is that in some cases the creditor may get a "judgment lien" which, if perfected before the bk, would survive the bk.

Well the OP could file a Motion to Avoid Judicial Lien in most cases.

[123ABC]

I stopped paying my credit cards in 2/07. It took till 06/08 before they started suing. Only 2 have sued. Capital One (of course) and Citi (of course). BofA was my biggest balance at 8000 and they never bothered. They both got judgements and liens on the house. They tried several times to go into my bank account and take the money, however there is NEVER any money in my bank account so I wasnt worried. As long as you have less than 400.00 in there they cant do anything. They never bothered to go after a garnishment. I filed ch 7 on Aug 5th. All liens and judgements will be vacated after I am discharged. i will need to file seperate with the court the liens are in. Its going to cost me an additional 199.00.

My mom was in this same situation a few years ago due to some medical bills and thats exactly how it worked for her as well. At least in Ohio that is the process.

[AngelinaCatHub]

If the person whose name is on the judgement is on the account, they can touch the account.

FYI a joint account is considered to be owned by both parties in it's entirety, not 50%. In other words, the wife could clean you out or you her, legally and the money would be the holder's no matter who deposited it from where. 'Hub

[music12]

Well the OP could file a Motion to Avoid Judicial Lien in most cases.

can such a motion be granted even if the debtor does not have exemptions to cover the lien amount?

[music12]

FYI a joint account is considered to be owned by both parties in it's entirety, not 50%. In other words, the wife could clean you out or you her, legally and the money would be the holder's no matter who deposited it from where. 'Hub

some states consider it 50-50 and in a levy would take only 50% of the money if its a joint account. it depends both on how the account is set up and on the state.

[Annie4]

Wow, this is interesting and answering questions for me that I didn't even get to ask yet, lol.

My daughter and I each filed Chapt 7's ourselves and we both had "certificate of judgment's" filed against us in the Probate Court. (Hers for a credit card and mine, well actually my husbands, for damages to another persons vehicle caused by an accident while we didn't have car insurance.)

Not sure what they do with those (Certificate of Judgment) or if they can turn into Writ's like yours?

Neither of us have much, but both of us have the titles to an old vehicle each ('96 car=her, and '87 truck=me). I did see to put those as exemptions as I was filling out the papers, and then....

I accidentally came across a 'Motion To Avoid Lien' form, and even though the vehicles weren't promised or anything for either of those debts, the lady at the Probate Court answering the phone called it a Lien, so I thought I should fill that out and file it with my Petition to be sure.

I thought they were Judgement Liens instead of just Judgments (if there's a difference) and wanted to cover all our ends just in case.

They sent a Notice, and I had to amend that, because I forgot to add a copy of the actual Judgment with it (y'all remember that, lol), then I had to change the date on everything and re-file that.

I took them both up there today and 'amended' them to our case and got to meet our case manager (same for both of us) and she said it all looked right now.

It may have not been necessary at all, but after all that trouble, it'll be nice to see it get Approved! in the end, lol.

[bf2bf]

music12,

What's a "perfected" judgement lien and why does it survive BK C7?


123ABC,

Did you close your accounts before you stopped paying them?

[music12]

ah, bf2bf, if only i could give the right answer to that question!!

i can only say generally speaking: "perfected" means all steps necessary for the lien to be in effect have been taken by the creditor. for example, a mortgage is perfected when it's filed with the county clerk (or whatever it's called). if it's not actually filed there, then even though there is an agreement that there would be a lien on the house, the debt would be considered by the bk court to be unsecured. a judgment lien in some states is perfected when the creditor files the judgment with the county, but in some states it's automatic the moment the judgment was entered in the court.

and again, generally speaking, liens survive bankruptcy unless "avoided" in bk court (that's what my discharge order says!).

but, i am very confused about the precise definition of lien so maybe somebody else knows more.

[OhioFiler]

can such a motion be granted even if the debtor does not have exemptions to cover the lien amount?

Nope. Got to be able to exempt the property or show the lien is greater than the equity in the property.