Question Foreign Debt options

[owend]

We are being sued in a foreign country. We are being sued for over $50,000 dollars. Their is a good chance they will win the case.
If they decide to bring it too the United States we will be forced into bankruptcy. However at this point of time they have not done so.

What options do we have? Today I dont have the money or even a small % of it too pay off this debt.
But If I ignore it I am concerned that in say X years from now, things start too turn around and we manage too save for a home . That they could then come after us, and place a lien on the home. So what is our best course of action?

[justbroke]

It reads as though you are stuck in that you can't make arrangements to pay it off. If the plaintiff, from the foreign country, domesticates the lawsuit, you would likely be subjected to collection here in the United States.

The real question is whether it is worth it for the plaintiff to attempt to domesticate the judgement here. I don't know the costs or complexities of doing such a thing but I am sure that it's more complex than domesticating a judgement that was rendered within the United States and its territories. I would assume that just like attempting to collect judgements rendered to citizens of and in the United States, collection could be difficult if the debtor is in some non-collectible status.

I don't know if domesticating a judgement from say Canada or Mexico is any be "less" complex than say domesticating a judgement from Lithuania.

You can always file for bankruptcy at the time that the reality of paying the judgement reaches your doorstep.

This is beyond my area of experience. Maybe despritfreya has seen this more.

[owend]

I understand that if they come to the USA I can then declare bankruptcy. My concern is that if they wait X years before coming and during that time things turn around for us, and they then come with the judgement plus costs that they can wipe us out after things have gotten better. So was wondering if their was a way too protect us from that situation.

[justbroke]

That's something that all debtors must face; the prospect that a judgement, although not currently being actively collected, could come back to haunt the debtor later. Most judgements in the United States, although they usually have a statute of limitations of 10 years, can be renewed for a another 10 years. That makes up to 20 years to collect. It's simply the nature of debt collection and the statutes which allow a judgement creditor to collect on their debt.

There is no way to protect from this situation. I like to call judgement debt as "super debt" as it allows court-assisted collection techniques including, but not limited to garnishment, levy and non-consensual lien. Unless the debt has been cancelled or discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding, there's no way to protect yourself from collection. Persons that are uncollectable, because they are receiving money from the Social Security Act, or have State/Federal exemptions which cover their pension or other money, are protected in a sense. The debt is still valid. It is just that the judgement creditor can't get to their money. In some States, judgement creditors -- who don't have a consensual lien -- can't get to the equity in a home (which is why many rich people buy homes in places like Florida).

[owend]

Lets suppose the opposite and things get worse for us and in X years we need to declare bankruptcy. Can we also include the foreign debt in the bankruptcy even though its not yet in the United States. Also

[justbroke]

As far as I know, a debtor with foreign debts would need to follow the procedures for bankruptcy/insolvency in the other country. It is unlikely that the foreign debt would be domesticated to the US but any assets you have in the foreign country could be levied based on that countries specific debt practices.

So, I would say don't worry about this so much. The cost for the foreign creditor to get this debt validated and domesticated in the US could be too much of a burden. While it's possible it is probably not probable. (Did I just make a sentence like that?)

Bottom line, it is what it is. Someday you may need to face this foreign debt, but for now just continue.

[despritfreya]

In general,

1. A foreign judgment (one from another Country) can be domesticated in the US if the foreign Country is a signatory to the Hague Convention. You can find the list here:

https://www.hcch.net/en/states/hcch-members

2. If a member of the Hague Convention, the process of domesticating the judgment is a bit cumbersome but not impossible. Gaining jurisdiction over the person takes a few additional steps and costs extra money depending upon the Countries involved.

3. Once domesticated, the judgment is a valid judgment and can be executed on just like any other judgment.

4. Filing bk in the US will end collections in the US only. I believe this to be the case whether or not the judgment has been domesticated, so long as the creditor is properly notified of the bankruptcy filing.

Des.