Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Connecticut

Re: Judgement Lien

I am assuming that once you realized you had blown the very first payment you immediately paid it, and that you made the January payment on time. If this is NOT true, you are acting very irresponsibly, and may find yourself in a lot more trouble in the near future.

Regardless of that, however, placing a judgment lien on your home is a routine precaution, and your home is in no danger so long as you continue to make those $50/month payments ON TIME. The lien applies only to YOUR interest in the home, and does not affect the interests of your other family members. If you own only 1/4 of the title, is is very unlikely that the plaintiff's lawyer would bother to begin a foreclosure.

HOWEVER, if you and your family decide to sell the house, OR if you were to REFINANCE your mortgage, the ENTIRE BALANCE of the debt would have to be paid at that time. That is the purpose of a judgment lien -- to require payment in full when the owner needs to "clear the title" in order to sell or refinance.

Here's a tip for you: The orthodontist and his lawyer would MUCH rather have a large sum of money now, and be DONE with your file, rather than keep cashing your $50.00 checks month after month, year after year. If your relationship with your family members is good, and if they have, between them, between $1,800 and $2,500 they can loan you, the orthodontist would probably take that amount in lieu of your monthly checks. You can negoatiate with them. If it works, they get the money you borrow from your family, the lien is released, and the court records will show that the judgment was satisfied. You won't have to worry about it any more, and you owe your relatives instead of the orthodontist.

Finally, if things get better for you later on, you can, if you choose, repay the rest of the money to the orthodontist. If you want to.

Good luck.