I Heard That ... I Can't Get Rid of Judgments
This is typically not true. If you could wipe out the type of debt that is behind the judgment, then you can normally wipe out the judgment too.
A couple examples might be helpful.
Suppose you owe a credit card and cannot pay it. The credit card company can sue you for failing to pay. If they win, they receive a judgment against you. Bankruptcy can still help get rid of this type of debt and the judgment for it.
On the other hand, if you owe something that is normally not wiped out in bankruptcy (like child support, alimony, recent taxes, and so on) then a judgment to collect the debt may not be wiped out. You might be able to better organize the repayment of the debt in Chapter 13, however.
And sometimes there's an in-between situation. Some debts are usually dischargeable in bankruptcy, like credit cards, but can be held non-dischargeable if the court concludes you did something improper. In some cases, a trial outside bankruptcy court can rule on those kinds of issues making it harder or impossible to wipe out debt in a subsequent bankruptcy.
So it is important to get in otuch sooner than later if there is a lawsuit going on.
A couple examples might be helpful.
Suppose you owe a credit card and cannot pay it. The credit card company can sue you for failing to pay. If they win, they receive a judgment against you. Bankruptcy can still help get rid of this type of debt and the judgment for it.
On the other hand, if you owe something that is normally not wiped out in bankruptcy (like child support, alimony, recent taxes, and so on) then a judgment to collect the debt may not be wiped out. You might be able to better organize the repayment of the debt in Chapter 13, however.
And sometimes there's an in-between situation. Some debts are usually dischargeable in bankruptcy, like credit cards, but can be held non-dischargeable if the court concludes you did something improper. In some cases, a trial outside bankruptcy court can rule on those kinds of issues making it harder or impossible to wipe out debt in a subsequent bankruptcy.
So it is important to get in otuch sooner than later if there is a lawsuit going on.
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