Judgments! How do they affect you? What can you do to get rid of them? How much do they really cost you?

You owe a creditor some money! You can't pay! You just don't have the cash and there is nothing left in your budget. You tell the creditors, but they just want their money! This is how it usually starts out. You have every intention of paying your bills, but you just can't for one reason, or another!

The creditor decides to take his debt a step further and starts a lawsuit against you. In most cases, there is nothing to defend. You know you owe the money. The creditor gets a judgment against you.

Whether you realize it or not, the entry of a judgment against you puts a lien on all real property you have in the County where the judgment is entered, the only exception being that a judgment against just you won’t be a lien against property you already own as husband and wife. But, if the judgment is against both you and your spouse, even that is no help. The judgment will be a lien against all your property. The judgment lien is a lot like having a creditor get an additional mortgage against your property.

To make things worse, the judgment gets bigger and bigger because the creditor has a right to interest as long as the judgment is left unpaid.

Then, adding insult to injury, the creditor can also come after other things you own, like your car, household goods, money in the bank, tools, equipment, etc. But first, most creditors must give you a right to claim certain “exemptions” (at least in North Carolina). Exemptions are categories of property that, up to certain limits, the creditor cannot take, but only if you claim them. If you are like most people, by the time you need to claim these exemptions, you are so dazed and confused and used to ignoring everything, you don’t even fill out the paperwork to claim your exemptions. That’s not good at all, because not doing so gives the creditor the right to come after almost everything you have, except for money in retirement accounts (other than IRA’s) and maybe your wages. And, even wages are not protected from certain creditors, as for instance: (1) An ex-spouse and coming after you for payment of alimony or child support, (2) The State and Federal government for back taxes, or (3) Student loan lenders for overdue student loans.

The Creditor is awarded the judgment for whatever amount of money. Lets say it's $2,000.00 as an example. What does this mean? Well! First it means that the Creditor can take the money, if he can find it and if he can get it. Here's an example. You have just put your paycheck in the bank. It was $800.00 and the Creditor knows where you bank and had requested that the bank collect any money that you may put into your checking account by order of a judgment awarded the creditor by the courts.. In this example, it would be $2,000. The $800 would be gone! If you have any money in a savings account, it will also be gone, if the creditor finds out where it is. The judgment also goes on your credit report and that means no more credit in most cases. It also has some negative affects when you're working a job with a security clearance. It's embarrassing! It's also something that can be taken care of using Federal Laws! You can stop the negative affects of judgments fast! You can also repay them over 60 months in most cases. So! Your repayment would be approx. $10 per week to pay off that debt.

Every thing that you think is hopeless has a solution, if you ask the right person! The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt can give you straight answers to tough questions. They can also start the process to take that monkey right off your back on the first visit!

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