Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Wisconsin

Re: Bankruptcy/Judgements

What you need is a routine satisfaction of judgment, and your bankruptcy lawyer will happily do this for you if requested. Most bankruptcy attorneys will handle these for a very small additional fee ($100 to $200.00 per judgment per county). It requires a separate lawsuit from your bankruptcy in State court rather than federal court, hence it is not a part of the agreed price for the initial filing. Even if a judgment is discharged in bankruptcy, it gives rise to a lien against real estate owned by the debtor in any county where the judgment is docketed. This lien survives bankruptcy discharge unless the judgment is satisfied, and will prevent a debtor from being able to obtain financing to purchase a new home, even long after the "dust has settled" from the bankruptcy. Debtors only have the right to get the judgment satisfied if it impairs one or more of their exemptions. There is no right to automatically have the judgment satisfied to the extent that there is no impairment of an exemption. For example, if the debtor has more than $40,000. equity in a homestead (the WI maximum) and the amount of the judgment is small enough to still leave the debtor with $40,000.00 homestead equity after the judgment is paid, the debtor is not entitled to a satisfaction until he or she pays the judgment. Judgments against business real estate or business assets can rarely be satisfied without paying them.