Page 188 - Judgment Enforce Course

Judgment Enforcement – The Step-by-Step Course

times, people who took a risk with a business that didn’t work out, or who spent all their

money on cancer treatment. Who knows if one day you or I might find ourselves in that
tragic situation. However, more often than not—and especially these days—bankruptcy is
misused as a way to simply run up bills and not pay them. And this is a bad thing.

What You Can Do

The first thing to do when the debtor files bankruptcy is to
STOP all collection efforts. Stop! Stop! Stop! Did you hear
me? Stop! If you don’t, you’ll be in violation of federal law, and
the debtor will have a chance to sue you. You will lose and he will
win.

Two main types of bankruptcy

If your JD files bankruptcy, he’s supposed to list the judgment in his petition. You’ll get
a notice in the mail then, from the bankruptcy court. Look carefully at the notice of
bankruptcy you received from the court. It will say what kind of bankruptcy the debtor has

filed. It is probably Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
Most of our JD’s file through Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. This allows the
debtor to discharge (effectively cancel) all of his debts. If he

has significant assets, he may have to turn them over to the
trustee, and the court will then sell the assets and distribute
them to the creditors. But usually the Chapter 7 is for debtors
with no assets. You get nothing, and the debtor walks away.
That’s the reality of it.

So, if your debtor files Chapter 7 no assets, you are pretty
much out of luck unless your judgment was for fraud,
misrepresentation, or some kind of malicious conduct. OR, if there was property you
liened. It may be your opinion that your judgment was for fraud, misrepresentation or
malicious conduct, but the question is, does it actually say that on the judgment? If not, in

my opinion you are probably out of luck. Sorry. But read on. Maybe there is some help.

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