Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

It depends. It depends on your assets and income. There is no wage garnishment in NC for an NC judgment and if you work for an employer who is in NC and has no offices anywhere else. There are some exceptions to this.

What assets do you own, how are they titled and are they owned free and clear?

Going forward, if you have a judgment against you, you can own nothing in your name solely that is paid off as it is at risk of seizure. Anything that is liened or jointly owned is safe from seizure by the sheriff.

Because there is no wage garnishment in NC, the next lowest hanging fruit (creditors are lazy and most of them want money, rather than your stuff) is bank accounts. What are your sources of income? Do you get SSDI, SSI, VA, Railroad retirement, unemployment or regular SS/pension? If so, it cannot be garnished as long as you do not commingle with non-exempt funds of another person or non-exempt funds of your own.

Even if you do not get exempt income, there are still ways to protect your bank account.

To collect on a judgment in NC, a creditor must first serve you with 2 papers - one is a notice of rights to have exemptions designated and the other is motion to claim exempt property. The notice is akin to a summons in a civil case. You have 20 days after you get the notice to file the motion to claim exempt property. I don't know where you are, but see me or another attorney to help you fill it out correctly. If you don't list your bank account or other assets on the form you are waiving your exemptions. So don't ignore these papers.

Exemptions/execution can be reissued any number of times. The judgment remains enforceable for a period of 10 years but it can be renewed for another 10 years.

In the long run, what is your situation? How much is the judgment for? What is it for? A credit card? Or something else? Will you be able to pay the judgment in time if you saved up money? How old are you? Do you work? If you have more than $10,000 in dischargeable debt and your assets would all be exempt, then consider filing bankruptcy if you will never be able to pay this back. If you are looking at chapter 13 bankruptcy or if the debt is less than $10,000, then start saving your money. When you have about 50% of the judgment balance (get an updated balance from the court), most debts can be settled in a lump sum (credit cards and other unsecured debt, like a personal loan/line of credit). If the creditor refuses, keep saving until you have 60% and try again.

Please contact me at [email protected] if you would like to discuss your options in confidence.