I received paperwork from an attorney's office (certified mail and regular mail)for a debt that was from 1996. It does not say who the debt was owed and it state "entering judgement out of time".What does this mean and don't they have to state who I owe this debt to. Is there a time limit on it.

It doesn't really depend how old the debt is, what matters is how much time has passed since you made a payment or payment agreement with a collection agency.

If you have not made payments and no one has contacted you about this in the last 7 years then in general, for most states, the debt is too old for them to sue you for in court.

They can still send letters demanding payment but this sounds like they intend on suing you... or maybe they are informing you they are out of time... this is an odd letter. Maybe take it to a lawyer and ask what it means.

Maybe post the entire text of the letter without names and addresses of you/companies involved and someone can tell you what it means.

Send them a letter back stating you have no idea what this debt is about. If they want you do anything about it, then need to send verification of the debt. Who its for, how much and that they are entititled to collect on it.