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Judgments, unless they fall into an exception below, live in 7 year installments. But with the right timing, a judgment can be enforced for 27 years.
After a judgment is entered, the person who is owed the money, called the "creditor," can enforce the judgment for 7 years. However, the creditor can file a Petition to Revive, and serve it on the person who owes the money (the "debtor"), and get another 7 years.
The creditor must file the Petition to Revive within 20 years of the entry of the judgment. That's why the longest a judgment can be enforced is 27 years.
Example: A judgment is entered July 1, 2020. If the creditor does nothing, it expires on July 1, 2027. If the creditor files a Petition to Revive in early 2040, they could get another 7 years, running to 2047.
Consumer judgments
If the judgment is for consumer goods or services (not bodily injury or death), it can only be revived once, 10 years after it is entered.
[no-lexicon]Child support[/no-lexicon] judgments
Child support judgments last forever.
Legal Comment
Legal Comment
Submitted by Gwendelyn Daniels on Mon, 06/12/2023 - 10:33
Yes, credit card debt is consumer debt. So once a court judgment is entered, that judgment, a creditor has 7 years to enforce the judgment before the judgment goes dormant; it can be revived once for another 7 years at 10 years. If the creditor has a wage garnishment filed during the 7 years, it continues. A creditor can not get a wage garnishment order on a dormant or expired judgment.
Submitted by kenneth evans on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 12:35
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