Debt – Payment of a Judgment
You Only Pay a Legal Fee if Your Debt is Reduced or Removed
Judgments result from 2 kinds of actions:
- 1. Winning a lawsuit on the merits after a trial
- 2. Being awarded a “default judgment” when the defendant does not appear, at all.
A judgment allows the plaintiff in the case to take steps to collect money in the amount set forth in the judgment. The plaintiff can put liens on property and bank accounts and/or garnish the defendant’s wages. Or the plaintiff can do nothing- normally because he or she does not think the money is collectable, and steps to secure money, costs money.
Or, the defendant can pay the judgment.
If there is a judgment against you that you have not paid, it is harmful to your credit rating (at least for 7 years), it can prevent your getting loans, it means the plaintiff can still seek to collect at any time, it can become a lien on your home, and the judgment collects interest until its paid.
If you want to sell your home and the judgment holder has recorded the judgment, properly, there could a lien on your home that prevents the sale, unless it’s paid.
While it is harder to negotiate judgment-debt lower, since the judgment creditor already has the judgment, it is not impossible. The leverage a judgment debtor has is that the judgment creditor wants to get money.
If you’d like to pay a judgment, we can try to negotiate a lesser amount than owed using a strategy based on your circumstances, the nature of the debt, and insights into the judgment holder. We will also negotiate the settlement agreement and ensure the required legal procedures to remove the judgment and any liens are taken as and when required.
Clients only pay a legal fee if their objective is achieved, where litigation is avoided.