Re: Collecting a judgement- Info Please

Posted by CardReport.Com Webmaster (210.54.247.221) on August 01, 2003 at 01:59:23:

In Reply to: Collecting a judgement- Info Please posted by Favouriteslave on August 01, 2003 at 00:42:10:

"Judgement proof" isn't really an official legal concept. A court will never make such a declaration.

The term simply refers to a debtor/defendant who has little or no assets to pay a judgement. It has zero meaning to the court which issued the judgment (i.e. where you were sued and lost.) The creditor's legal ability to sue, and the amount of any judgement, will *not* be effected.

Being "judgement proof" will *not* give you any legal protections against being sued, although, some creditors might be discouraged.

If a creditor sues you and wins, then they are legally entitled to take any non-exempt assets (depending upon which state), and might be willing to sue you now, and then check up on you periodically (e.g. via pulling your credit bureau reports for a general idea of your condition), for a change in circumstances (e.g. you start having more money/assets), and then can start trying to grab that new money/assets.

A judgement will be listed on your credit reports as a severely negative item, especialy if unpaid, regardless of your ability to pay.

Some creditors may be discouraged from suing if they have information suggesting that the debtor is hopelessly unable to pay ("judgement proof"), such as being permanently disabled, elderly, etc, without any assets. But the creditor is still legally able to sue, thus, at the very least, giving you a major negative on your credit bureau files.

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