FLORIDA JUDGMENTS -IMPORTANT WARNING If you have had a Judgment filed against you in Florida prior to Oct.1, 2001, (FILING date-not the date it was entered) and you are contacted by any collection agency for a "settlement" to remove the judgment from your credit report,-- BE WARNED!! The new Florida Lien Law VOIDS any judgment filed before Oct.1,2001 that is not REFILED in Tallahassee by Oct.1,2003. http://www.sunbiz.org/corpweb/inquiry/jlien_info.html If your judgment is NOT refiled (and it must be done by the SAME party who filed originally, together with a LOT of additional information like current address, ss# etc.) Then it is a VOID judgment and can be removed from your credit reports. DO NOT be fooled into paying a "settlement" for something you will get anyway for nothing.
I do'nt read that Why. I think it says that you have to register Judgment Liens with the state not the actual judgment. Educate me.
Here is the relevant section dealing with length of judgement lien: "55.204 Duration and continuation of judgment lien; destruction of records. (1) Except as provided in this section, a judgment lien acquired under s. 55.202 lapses and becomes invalid 5 years after the date of filing the judgment lien certificate. (2) Liens securing the payment of child support or tax obligations as set forth in s. 95.091(1)(b) shall not lapse until 20 years after the date of the original filing of the warrant or other document required by law to establish a lien. No second lien based on the original filing may be obtained. (3) At any time within 6 months before or 6 months after the scheduled lapse of a judgment lien under subsection (1), the judgment creditor may acquire a second judgment lien by filing a new judgment lien certificate. The effective date of the second judgment lien is the date and time on which the judgment lien certificate is filed. The second judgment lien is a new judgment lien and not a continuation of the original judgment lien. The second judgment lien permanently lapses and becomes invalid 5 years after its filing date, and no additional liens based on the original judgment or any judgment based on the original judgment may be acquired." While you are technically correct in that it deals with the lien of the judgement and not the judgement itself, if the lien is unenforcable, then the judgement should not show any amount due on it and should in fact show as satisfied under the law. At least that is the way I am reading the section. fla-tan
I think that is what I read also. But I was making the point to the extent that judgments can and still will show on your report(s). I don't know if the public record down at your local courthouse will be expunged if and when the original creditor does'nt file with the state. If the public record remains on file then I am sure CRAs will continue to report albeit with a $0 balance. Leaving us only marginally better off.
lwg8tr What is important there is that if challenged, it can't be verified. Secondly, and this is from a mortgage perspective, it won't affect the mortgage process nearly as much as an unpaid judgement. fla-tan
