I hope you are not looking at a judgment and are just asking this question for the sake of curiosity. However, if you believe you will be facing a legal judgment, it is essential that you do your research and understand the mechanics of a judgment – before it happens, during the process, and afterward.

A judgment is used by creditors as a last ditch effort to collect a debt owed to them. Before a judgment is filed with the court, normally several things have already taken place. The usual scenario is that you agree to purchase an item from the creditor in exchange for installment payments or agree to purchase the item and then pay for the item with a credit card, which then means that you have incurred a debt to the credit card company. A creditor will usually only file a judgment proceeding in the event he has been attempting for quite a while to obtain payment from you. Eventually, he may feel that he will not be able to do so or is tired of expending time and money in an effort to collect the debt.

So, at this point, you have purchased your item and taken it home to enjoy. Unfortunately, the week following your purchase, you are laid off from work due to the economy! You, of course, are confident that you will be able to find another job quickly. However, after four months of diligently searching, it becomes evident that you were mistaken. Now, you have creditors calling constantly and are receiving what seems to be a barrage of daily written demands from those same creditors for payment.

Normally, a creditor will contact you when you fall behind on payments and try to determine the cause and make arrangements with you to bring the payments current. The economy is so poor right now that he may initially be sympathetic and understanding. As time continues, however, he may become less inclined to sympathy and more insistent upon cold, hard cash. As it takes time and money to try to chase down debt owed, your creditor may become even less sympathetic and file a judgment proceeding against you in order to attempt to obtain payment. (It is important to note at this point that when you entered the agreement to purchase the item or when you entered the agreement with the credit card company to pay for any debt you incurred using the credit card, you probably signed a written agreement which contained a clause allowing the creditor or credit card company to initiate a legal action against you in the event that you defaulted on your payments.) By initiating this legal action, your creditor will attempt to prove that the debt was incurred by you and that you do, in fact, owe the sum due. By doing this, he will be able to obtain a “judgment” against you.

People unfamiliar with legal matters are often nervous when they receive legal papers, which is natural. They may even consider not appearing in court for the hearing because they are scared to do so. Let me state here and now that it is ESSENTIAL that you show up at the hearing! If you do not, your absence will mean that a default will automatically be rendered in the case. A default on your part means that you LOSE the case and your creditor, with no effort on his part, will automatically win! This will mean that you will be right back at step one again and owing your creditor the debt.

If your creditor wins the case, he will obtain a judgment against you and you will be served with a Notice of Judgment. You will be given 30 days to pay the debt in full. If you fail to pay the debt within the 30-day time frame, your creditor will have certain actions available to him to collect the debt. These actions are quite severe! They include garnishment of wages, seizure of assets, and liens against real property.

Your credit score will take a nose-dive if your creditor is successful in obtaining a judgment against you! It is best to contact your creditor early on and try to work out a payment plan. Remember, the only one hurt in a judgment proceeding is YOU!

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