Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Judgement for unpaid credit card balance

You asked about unpaid debt that puts you at risk.

You are correct. If there is a judgment against her, the sheriff will seek to levy personal property at her residence. Only after the property is seized will the rightful owner be able to make a claim and will need to provide proof that the property is not hers.

She is mistaken about the creditor. The creditor will seek to be repaid as it bore no risk of loss just because the property was lost.

There are means to protect yourself but they are beyond the scope of free advice.

Regards,

Roger

Re: Judgement for unpaid credit card balance

She shouldn't try to just walk away from it. Frequently there are defenses to these suits, the biggest one being the 4 year statute of limitations, which may be waived if she doesn't file an answer. At any rate, if they do get a judgment the easiest item to go after is her bank account. Execution upon personal property or a car is not all that easy and the credit card companies have so many of these judgments by default that they usually won't bother trying to go after personal property or a car unless it is a very significant sum.

Re: Judgement for unpaid credit card balance

She should definitely defend the lawsuit. If she does not the creditor will no doubt get a judgement. She should contact an attorney immediately. As for your property this is a sticky issue the creditor if it get a judgement can try to execute on the judgement by attaching or having sold assets of the defendant. If they try to attach assets at your home thinking they belong to your relative this can cause issues for you which would have to be addresed. I suggest you discuss this further with an attorney.