Blogs: Fabricius & Fabricius PLLC, Attorneys-at-Law

Our latest attorney-authored blog posts.

4 Ways a North Carolina Judgment Goes Away

A judgment is a decision from a court as to the outcome of a civil lawsuit. When a money judgment is entered, it is a determination by a court that the defendant (judgment debtor) owes that money to the plaintiff. Having a judgment allows the plaintiff to use certain court-sanctioned processes to collect the judgment debt. In North Carolina, this includes execution on personal property and judgment liens on real estate.

When considering what to do about a judgment, it is useful to consider how that judgment might ultimately go way in the long term. I present in this post four ways that judgments go away in North Carolina.

Pricing in Debt Collection Settlements

Consumers with old debts or old judgments frequently receive offers to settle the debt, either by a lump sum payment or via series of (higher) installment payments. They might receive differ offers on the same debt over time, even from the same collector. Where do these numbers come from?

Debt Collections Summons and Complaint: 5 Misconceptions

Service of a summons and complaint starts the process for the a civil lawsuit to collect debt in North Carolina, including an old

Is the Date Wrong on the Notice of Right to Have Exemptions Designated?

In the process of post-judgment collection against an individual in North Carolina, the individual collections defendant is served a notice of their right to have designated certain property as exempt, preventing the creditor from selling that property to satisfy the judgment. Elsewhere on this blog, I discussed the basics of Notice of Right to Have Exemptions Designated in greater detail. In this post, I clarify a common point of confusion regarding the dates on the notice form.

Without Wage Garnishment, Are Collections Judgments a Concern?

North Carolina is one of the few states that does not generally permit wage garnishment as a means to collect debts. Things like child support, taxes, and defaulted student loans are sometimes collected by garnishment, so it should be emphasized that wage garnishment does exist, it's just not broadly available.

Notice of Right to Have Exemptions Designated - Now What?

A deputy sheriff has come knocking with a Notice of Right to Have Exemptions Designated. What does this mean, and what do you do? This post discusses the basics of claiming exemptions under North Carolina state law.

Requests for Admissions in Collections Lawsuits

Consumers are routinely sued to collect past due debts, including on credit card accounts and other consumer loans. These collection lawsuits, like many types of civil litigation, may include discovery, where parties exchange information. The request for admission is a particularly popular type of discovery in collections lawsuits, and consumers need to aware of a couple of aspects of how these requests function.

When Do You Need a Health Care Power of Attorney?

A health care power of attorney is a legal document that specifies who has authority to make health care decisions on your behalf, and provides direction and limitations on that person's decision making authority. Everyone can benefit from having a valid health care power of attorney. However, people in particular situations should be especially encouraged to execute an up-to-date health care power of attorney.

Isolating Business and Personal Assets - Protecting Business and Owner

An important choice small business owners must make is the legal form of their business organization. Choosing amongst a corporation (s-corp or c), LLC, partnership, or sole proprietorship can have lasting economic consequences. Today, I will discuss how a business entity isolates the assets of the owner and the business. Owner liability protection, i.e. protecting the owner's assets from business debts, is widely appreciated as a reason to form a LLC or to incorporate. Less appreciated is the fact that some business structures can isolate the business's assets from the owner's debts. Of course, asset isolation is only one consideration when choosing a legal form; others, such as taxation impacts, are very consequential to a business's bottom line.

Tenancy by the Entirety - North Carolina's Super Exemption

In pre-bankruptcy planning, exemptions--certain statutory property allowances--are of significant consequence. A debtor whose property fits the exemptions well may be able to file chapter 7 without losing any property, while a debtor whose property doesn't fit the exemption pattern may have to turn over thousands of dollars worth of real or personal property. In the case of the North Carolina exemptions, the exemptions reflect a public policy choice by the General Assembly. In essence, the legislature has decided what a bare minimum amount of property each person should be able to have free of their creditors-at-large in order to maintain a basic lifestyle.

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