Discharging a Judgment Through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: WA. I have a judgment against me which I may try to discharge by filing Chapter 7, because I am unable to pay the debt due to my being homeless and unemployed. If I am successful in this petition does discharging the judgment also vacate it, or does that require a separate action? And, does discharging the judgment through Chapter 7 remove the judgment from my credit report, or must the judgment be vacated to remove it from my credit report? Or, does the judgment remain on my credit report for ten years regardless of actions taken to discharge or vacate?
Re: Discharging a Judgment Through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
The judgment doesn't get vacated it gets discharged and becomes uncollectible.
The credit report will show the judgment as discharged in bankruptcy and the entry will stay on the credit report for the remainder of the reporting period.
Even if you could get the judgment vacated (unlikely as you have no grounds) it would still show up on your credit report as a vacated judgment.
The bankruptcy will also show as a separate negative item.
Keep in mind that you cannot discharge just one debt in bankruptcy. You discharge all your debts and they all get shown as discharged in bankruptcy.
In other words, your credit is pretty well trashed already with the judgment on it. Bankruptcy only trashes it more.