Ask Me Help Desk - Vacate a judgment

Vacate a judgment

Can I vacate a judgment that was originally my father but after doing the succession it became mine. The judgment is for 26000.00 for a 1997 Aerostar van that my father was buying. The van was given back in 2001. The creditor supposively had a judgment on my father in 2003 that I was not aware of. My father died in 2005 and now the creditors are coming after me for this van that I don't have and didn't sign for.

They are actually coming after the estate of your father. If you benefitted from it, they are owed the money first. So if you inherited $20,000, its theirs.

Which debtor is listed on the paperwork your getting ? Is it still in your dads name or are they sending it directly to you ?

Was an estate ever opened ?

You are not responsible for debts solely in your father's name. But if there was an estate and you benefited from that estate without paying outstanding debts, then they can come after you to the extent you benefited from the estate.

There was no money in the estate. Only a house that I had to continue paying the note. The debtor now reads my father name and mine.

So am I suppose to sell my home to pay for something I don't have and can not even benefit from.

I want to think eveyone that responded I appreciate the feed back because I know nothing of the law and I was just floored when the papers started coming in the mail

First off you need a copy of the judgement that was awarded in 2003. You need to see who it is against. Once you know that and assuming you didn't cosign for the loan in question you might want to talk to a lawyer to get you out of this. Was the house in both your names or was it in his name only and passed to you through probate?

How much equity was in the house when you inherited it? Was there a will? Who was executor?

We need more info to help you.

The 2003 judgment was in my father name only. The house was passed to me through probate. I don't know how much equity is in the house I finished paying for it myself. The whole truth about the thing is that I have always paid for the house. My father sign for the house for me and I never had his name taken off until he died. He has never lived in the house the house was always mine but on paper and in the eyes of law I inherit the house.

You NEED to know certain facts as they will have a bearing later on. So you need to know what the value of the house was when you inherited it. You will need this to determine your cost basis when you eventually sell it. You should be able to find out what the balance of the mortgage was when he died if you were paying it. These two facts will tell you how much equity you had.

Also you aren't answering all our questions. But, as Califdad said, you need a copy of the original judgement. They can't just add you to the judgement if your name was not on it.

If you didn't perform your duty as executor to clear up any debts, then they have to sue you, they can't just add your name to the judgement.

We need all this info to help determine what your next step is.

When I did the succession I did not know of the judgment against my father. When they called for him after I had did the succession I told them he was decease and they ask me for death certificate and succession paper and that is when this all started. They took me to court I could not afford an Attorney and the Judge ruled in their favor to add me on to the original judgment. My next question is if I file bankruptcy will I lose my home.

Its starting to get complicated here. 1) this should have been taken care of in probate court. You keep using the word succession.. is this in the US ? You really need a lawyer to help you figure this out because they can go over the details and give you an idea of your case. If a judge ruled against you for whatever reason then the judgement is against YOU. It no longer has to do with your father. As far as bankruptcy is concerned that's more of a legal / personal issue and not knowing your exact situation I again urge you to consult a lawyer or barrister. Many operate at a reduced fee for consultation so at least you would know better where you stand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wronglyaccused

They took me to court I could not afford an Attorney .

I see people claim this all the time. But that most of the time, you cannot afford to NOT have an attorney, especially when going up against someone represented by counsel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wronglyaccused

and the Judge ruled in their favor to add me on to the original judgment.

On what grounds? What I suspect happened, is you did not do your due diligence as executor to find out what debts your father had. You then transferred assets to your name without first paying those debts. On those grounds, I can see a judge added you to the judgement. However if those were not the grounds, we'd need to know what they were to help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wronglyaccused

My next question is if I file bankruptcy will I lose my home.

We really can't answer that. But I see a few options before you go that route. Since the house is now paid off, why not go for a home equity loan to pay off the judgement? I would check to see if you qualify for one and for how much. Then offer the plaintiff a lump sum between $15K-$20K. Then negotiate from there. Once you get an amount and an agreement IN WRITING, then use the home eqity loan and pay it off.