Legal Question in Bankruptcy in North Carolina

A judgment is a court order that confirms that a debt is owed. It is not an order to pay, but the creditor does obtain additional legal remedies with a judgment. One remedy is a lien on real and personal property, however, North Carolina law allows a debtor to exempt certain property from levy. See http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_1c.html It sounds like your assets are well within what is exempt and thus cannot be reached with a writ of execution on a judgment. If a judgment is taken, and execution issued, the clerk of courts will send out information which allow a judgment debtor to claim his/her exemptions and secure complete relief from the judgment. In most instances, it is better to move a bank account and not disclose the location to a creditor than wait for judgment and then claim it to be exempt. If one has determined that bankruptcy is certain, then it is seldom beneficial to make any payments to credit cards. All the details of your situation must be weighed for a lawyer to give detailed advice. Thus, depending on your circumstances and assets, a judgment cannot hurt you. Creditors tend to intimidate with the threat of a "judgment" but the real effect may not be of any great consequence. Of course, a filing and discharge in bankruptcy is designed to discharges credit card debt and make it illegal to even take judgment or attempt to collect. The Eastern District of North Carolina has a program that provides free legal representation to qualified debtors and the court will also waive the filing fee in case of need. If a judgment has been taken prior to filing, the lien that impairs an exemption can be avoided with the filing of a simple motion.