Lawyers Explain Judgments in Phoenix
Lawyers Explain Judgments in Phoenix
A judgment is the court’s final decision in a lawsuit. When a judgment is awarded, debt collectors have much stronger tools to use, including wage garnishments and bank levies.
If a debt collector has secured a judgment against you, it’s time to act quickly. Your options for protecting your assets may include the following:
- Filing a writ of exemption to protect your bank account
- Having a judgment vacated
- Settling a judgment
- Filing for bankruptcy
The affordable Phoenix debt relief attorneys at Hilltop Law Firm are here to help. We’ll be happy to provide a FREE consultation where we can sit down and go over your options.
Call (602) 466-9631 to learn more today.
Judgments in Phoenix
With many types of debt, creditors and debt collectors are required to get a legal judgment before they are allowed to seek compensation from your employer or take funds directly out of your bank account. A judgment is a court order that requires you to pay your bills or face serious consequences. The total cost of a judgment may include additional expenses, including interest, collection costs, and attorney fees.
In Arizona, once a creditor has secured a judgment, they are allowed to seek wage garnishments and bank levies if you fail to make your payments. A wage garnishment requires your employer to withhold a portion of your wages and transmit the money to your creditors.
To levy your bank account, the creditor must serve your bank with a writ of garnishment. Then the bank will be required to freeze your accounts in preparation for turning your money over to your creditors. Many types of funds are exempt from a bank levy, including Social Security, supplemental security income, and Veterans Affairs payments. Your attorney may file a writ of exemption to protect these funds against unwarranted seizure.
Having a Judgment Vacated
Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure provide a process to remove a judgment, granted that there are grounds for doing so. This legal procedure is known as vacating a judgment. This means the judgment will be nullified or set aside.
There are many reasons why a judge may be willing to vacate a judgment against you. For example, sometimes, a debtor was never properly served regarding the lawsuit in question. It’s also possible that the judgment against you was obtained using fraudulent means, such as misconduct or misrepresentations made by the opposing party.
If you failed to respond to a summons or neglected to show up in court, your attorney might be able to demonstrate that you made a mistake that was caused by excusable neglect, such as a clerical error, misreading the filing date, or an illness. You may also have grounds to vacate a judgment if your lawyer abandoned the case.
Reasons for vacating a judgment include:
- You were never personally served.
- The court didn’t have the proper jurisdiction.
- You made an excusable error.
- Fraud
Your Options for Settling a Judgment
Though it may seem simple, settling a judgment can be more complicated than it appears. Debtors must fully understand their judgment and the conditions granted upon settling.
Before settling any judgment, several facts regarding the case must first be answered, which typically can be best handled by an experienced Arizona bankruptcy attorney. A judgment that has already entered some form of garnishment can be extremely hard to settle. Many creditors may be unwilling to settle the judgment once garnishment of wages has started.
With a lack of options, many debtors find filing bankruptcy to be the best form of relief from a judgment in Arizona when they are unable to easily pay the full amount owed to the creditor.
Contact us for a FREE 30-minute Consultation
We would love to meet you and find out more about the types of services you’re looking for. We’re confident we can help, so we offer a free 30-minute consultation. Just give us a call at (602) 466-9631 or fill out the form, and we’ll get right back to you. We’ll be happy to arrange a Zoom conference, meet in our office, or talk on the phone.
Experienced Help from People You Can Trust
Cy T. Hainey and Samantha Hainey at Hilltop Law Firm have decades of experience in the financial and legal fields. We’ll go over your unique situation to find a debt relief solution that works for you. If you’re interested in a Zoom meeting, someone from our office will be happy to help you set up your virtual meeting in advance.
Call (602) 466-9631 to learn more today.