Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: Judgment & homestead law

No. A homestead deed exempts certain assets

when someone files for bankruptcy. It does not

prevent a creditor from collecting on a judgment

including on the house.

Now, you say there is a judgment against your home. I assume that what you mean is that there

is a judgment against YOU. This is important because it is possible that there was a judgment against the former owner of the house, before you bought the house. If the judgment is not your debt, that is a different question. There is no easy answer, but you should be looking to recover the money from the former owner.

However, if the judgment involves a debt against you, the creditor can collect in all sorts of ways. Docketing the judgment as a lien that applies to your house is only ONE of many ways that the creditor can collect. The creditor could garnish wages or garnish a bank account, for example. This is another reason why you would not be able to prevent them from collecting on the debt.