So you discovered you have a judgment – and are now asking yourself: “Can a Judgment Ruin My Credit?”
First – what does it mean to have a judgment. A judgment is defined as follows: a legal document declared by the court that you are in default of a loan or other financial instrument.
Having a judgment listed on your credit report will certainly hurt your credit rating. Judgments typically will remain on your credit report until the debt is paid, which means for the next 7-10 years.
Second, a judgment process works like this: The person to whom the judgment is set against has 30 days to respond to the judgment. If you feel it is unjustified, or you missed the court appearance because you were improperly served, you may have recourse to have the decision reversed.
For a full article click on the link to learn what is a default judgment?
Many people will try to have the judgment removed by paying it in full or negotiating some kind of payment arrangement with the creditor.
A choice of last resort is to file a Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy. This may, but not always, remove a judgment but will also hurt your credit as well. Bankruptcies will remain on a person’s credit report for 10 years. It is only advisable to take this route only if you have other outstanding debt that you are not able to pay.
Child support payments and delinquent income taxes are a different story. They are not dismissible by filing bankruptcy. They will stay on your credit report as a matter of public record and will not be removed until they are paid.
Of course, you can legally and ethically dispute any questionable bad credit item. I used a company called Lexington Law who can counsel you on ways to remove stubborn questionable credit items including judgments.
For a full review of how Lexington Law Firm works visit www.lexingtonlaw.com
Act Today & Get a Free – No Obligation – Credit Consultation by Calling 1-800-230-1954
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