How Judgments End Up on Credit Reports?

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Well, as of 2018 they DO NOT show up on a consumer’s personal credit report. So, you will not see a judgment on the actual credit report file.

This is good for the credit scores but many times it puts the judgment as they say, “out of sight- out of mind”. So, people forget about them.

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Here is how a judgment originates. If you are sued in court for a financial debt and the court rules against you then a judgment is filed in the adverse party’s favor. The judgment is filed against you by the court, not by the party who initially sued you. Once a judgment is filed against you, it will be entered in the Clerk of Courts records as an outstanding “lien” on you. In Florida, the timeline to collect could be up to twenty years, yes that’s “20”.

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Courthouses and Court Clerks are not data furnishers. They do not report information about judgments (or any other public record) to the credit bureaus. However, that information can be found by a formal public records search, such as a title search when a person is buying a home. ​

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An outstanding judgment will need to be satisfied to qualify for a mortgage or small business loan. When attempting to pay these types of debts, realize you are dealing with a Law Firm that can seize assets, banks accounts or even wages. Most can be negotiated, but you need to understand how they operate and how to approach them. You need to know what to say and what “not” to disclose in the conversation with that Law Firm.

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​Harry has settled over 8 million dollars’ worth of judgments since 2008. We have the experience and know how to either coach you to do it yourself or you can hire us. Don't take judgments lightly as they can have a dramatic effect on your assets and financial well-being.