If you’re going through bankruptcy, you may be wondering how a creditor gets a judgment. The process is fairly straight-forward. First, let’s look at what a judgment is, and why a creditor pursues one.

A judgment is the final act of a court (a court order) in defining the rights of all parties involved. If you do not pay your debts, a creditor can pursue a judgment against you. You and your creditor are summoned to appear in court. If the creditor wins the court case, a judgment will be issued. The judgment will say that you owe a specified amount of money to the creditor. Once the creditor obtains a judgment against you, he can pursue a variety of legal methods to force payment of the debt. You can stop the creditor from taking any of these steps by filing for bankruptcy.

In most states, you will receive a summons to appear in court if a creditor is pursuing a judgment against you. It’s a good idea to appear for the court case. If you do not appear, your creditor wins the judgment by default. Sometimes, you can have a default judgment vacated (or set aside) by filing a motion after the judgment is issued. You will need to have a valid excuse to explain why you did not appear for the court case. A judgment can remain on your credit report for up to 10 years, so this is something you want to take very seriously.

A judgment can also be issued on real property (i.e. home, car). This type of judgment is called a judgment lien. A creditor can obtain a judgment lien by recording a certified copy of the judgment in the real estate records of the county in which the real property is located. Real property liens last for 10 years (or until the debt is paid off), and they can be renewed for another 10 years.