Heironymous Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 If any of you read my previous post you know I am trying to help a friend file in time to meet the deadline. Well, as it stands I have still not found an attorney for her and neither has she, so...I think using an online service may be the last resort. What complicates matters is that she has a judgement from citibank. Would it be a good idea to file using an online service, then hire an attorney after filing to help getting the judgement removed? I really need advice on this asap! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Sorry no one else has responded. As far as I know, you're dealing with two separate issues. Filing BK7 will discharge any liability your friend has for paying the judgement (assuming its not tax, student loan, or child support related). BK does not remove the judgement from credit reports. The holder of the judgement should be listed in the creditors matrix on the BK filings and will be notified that is uncollectable.At some point in the future (maybe 2 years) you can see about getting it removed from the CRs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heironymous Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Yeah the judgement is for credit card debt. I have tried calling about 25 attorneys and no one is accepting new cases- well one guy was but for 1200 bucks! So I think bridgeport bankruptcy might be the only and best option at this point. Would an attorney be helpful in removing the judgement listing afterwards? The reason my friend is filing is to get rid of the judgement so that is a big point to all of this. From my research, she will be better of with the ch 7 than just a judgement. She has no assets aside from a car, which isn't worth much, although she is just about to pay it off and in NC they dont allow much for allowance on cars. This is what happens if you procrastinate and your attorney doesn't call you back for three weeks and tells you he isn't taking any more cases! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Well, like I said, the judgement becomes effectively uncollectable after the BK is discharged. So unless your friend really needs new credit, its no longer a problem. Getting it off the CRs in a couple years is another matter...depends on who the CC company is and whether they keep their records. In theory, in 2 yrs your friend can just send a "not mine" dispute to the CRAs and if the CC company doesn't responds, the judgement would be gone. No gurantees...but it has happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heironymous Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 OK, makes sense. She really just cannot afford to pay the judgement(12k) and her credit is ruined from the judgement anyway, so she figured might as well make a fresh start and file ch7. I was just concerned that doing it without an atty would cause a problem relating to the judgement but it seems like it should be ok. A couple people on here recommended bridgeport bankruptcy so I am going with them and will advise her to as well. Also, the judgement was from Citibank, not sure if that makes a differance in how hard it would be to remove. What happens with judgements when you move out of state? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Judgements stay on your CRs for 10 years (and can be renewed for another 10, if the creditor chooses to file the required paperwork...unlikely after a BK)...and it will follow her on the CR no matter where she goes.The original debt...the CitiBank CC...will only stay onthe CRs for 7-1/2 years. It gets a little complicated. The CitiBank tradeline will be listed as "included in bankruptcy" (IIB). Its very unlikely that you can get that removed early. On the other hand, the judgement is not actually reported directly by CitiBank...its done through a "public records" reporting company, like Lexus/Nexus, and there are ways to make it impossible for them to verify the judgement...and thereby it gets deleted.When you get the time...read, read, read lots of other posts about that method... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heironymous Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 So in your opinion do you think the strategy of filing ch7 is a good one rather than dealing with a judgement of that size? Her other option is to make payments on the judgment for years until its paid. I would think she would be able to build up good credit faster by filing ch7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 I think there's a lot more questions to ask before I could give an opinion. Filing BK over 12k seems extreme. If 12k is all she owes, and she has no assets, and no income, then the judgement is uncollectable anyway. Filing BK is not nessecary. On the other hand, if she has a job, they could garnishee her wages, but how much would depend on what her state laws say. In general, a PAID judgement is less damaging to CRs than a BK. Not an easy question to answer.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heironymous Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 She does have a job and is scraping by as is...garnishment would make life very diificult. Also she is just about to pay off her car. She owes 12k or so to the judgement and about 10-12 in other credit debt, which normally wouldn't be worth filing over but her credit is shot now from the judgement anyway...she lives in NC by the way but plans to move to FL when this is over with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 The real question to ask before filing BK is does the amount of income cover monthly payments and still leave enough for living expenses and some entertainment. If the answer is yes, then find another way to deal with the judgement. For example, have you looked at the menu item at the top of the page "Vacating Judgements"? If the answer is no, then file BK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heironymous Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Oh yes I definately looked at that, unfortunately she has a default judgement. She tried validation during the collection phase which they didn't respond to, then they got the default judgement. Citibank is a hard nut to crack. This was all over a two months late credit card bill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anonymous Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Actually Gorilla, it seems judgements stay on the CR for 7. Mine (that I didn't know about until 5 1/2 years later) fell off after 7 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 GrimRepo You're right. My bad. Judgement 7 yrs, BKs 10 yrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadynRed Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Legally, per the FCRA, a judgment CAN stay on your reports for as long as the judgment is in force. Fortunately for most people, they do drop off at the 7 year mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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