After a judgment is entered the next step is for that creditor to discover the judgment debtor’s assets and income to pay down the debt. To do that, the creditor sometimes needs to take a deposition in aid of enforcement. This is an examination of the debtor under oath, frequently before a judge or special master. The consequences of false testimony may be dire: imprisonment or denial of a bankruptcy discharge.

The post Creditor’s Rights: What Is A Deposition In Aid Of Enforcement? appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

If you have a loan that’s in default, your first plan of action should be to discuss an arrangement where the bank will forbear from filing a lawsuit, foreclosing or otherwise seizing assets. To obtain this forbearance a borrower usually needs to agree to:

• make regular payments
• pledge additional collateral
• release the bank of claims
• waive defenses and a jury trial
• agree to other terms and conditions.

Though the terms of a forbearance agreement may initially seem onerous, they are helpful to borrowers most of the time because the enable debtors in default the opportunity to avoid bankruptcy.

The post Creditor’s Rights: What Is A Forbearance Agreement? Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

A lien is nothing more than a property interest that secures a debt. Frequently more than one lender will make a loan to someone secured by their home, their car, their business assets or their other property. Once a lender records a notice of their lien with a state or county recording office, other lenders will know of that lien’s existence and decide whether or not to make a loan. Priority of liens in a piece of property depends on the date that notice is recorded, also known as the date of perfection.

The post Creditor’s Rights: What is Lien Perfection? appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

A lien is nothing more than a property interest that secures a debt. A statutory lien is a lien that is created by law or statute, usually in favor of a taxing authority, like the state or the IRS. A statutory lien in proceeds from a personal injury lawsuit or settlement could also arise in favor of a state that pays for medical care. The most important thing to keep in mind about a lien is that it relates to a specific piece of property.

The post Creditor’s Rights: What is a Statutory Lien? Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

A lien is nothing more than a property interest that secures a debt. A consensual lien is a lien that a person gives voluntarily, often to secure the purchase price of a home or a car. Consensual liens generally give the creditor greater rights than judicial liens. The most important thing to keep in mind about a lien is that it relates to a specific piece of property.

The post Creditor’s Rights: What is a Consensual Lien? Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

A lien is nothing more than a property interest that secures a debt. A judgment can create a lien in real estate, or if the sheriff “levies” on property that will create a lien on that property. The most important thing to keep in mind about a lien is that it relates to a specific piece of property.

The post Creditor’s Rights: What is a Lien? Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

In modern commercial practice, many entities are limited liability companies. These are entities that have some of the qualifications of a corporation and some characteristics of a partnership, but in Maryland at least if a person gets a judgment against someone that’s a member of a limited liability company, that person can’t just seize that membership interest and sell it or become a member and operate that business. All that person can get is a charging order.

A charging order seizes any income that that limited liability company might distribute to the member who is an owner. Sometimes, a charging order is not terribly powerful because it can’t force the member to give up their rights in the limited liability company so that the judgment creditor can now control that company. All it can do is seize the distributions that are being made to that member. Other times, this can be powerful because a member can get money out of a limited liability company in only a limited number of ways, by salary, by distributions or by taking loans. But, if the member is clever, they might be able to put off a charging order and somehow operate that company to defeat the rights of the creditor. Nevertheless, it’s an important arrow in the quiver of a judgment creditor in trying to collect a debt.

The post What Is a Charging Order? appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

Affidavit judgments are widely used in Maryland District Courts. These are Maryland courts where the amount in controversy is less than $30,000. When the plaintiff sues for a liquidated debt (a debt that is in an exact amount, such as on a note or account receivable) someone for the plaintiff may sign the complaint form under penalty of perjury that the contents of the claim are correct to the best of his knowledge. If the defendant does not answer the court will enter judgment without the plaintiff doing anything else.

Because most small liquidated claims are not subject to any legitimate dispute affidavit judgments can be very useful. As a result, the plaintiff does not need to take extra steps to obtain its judgment. Simply signing the affidavit on the complaint will almost always lead to entry of a judgment. On the other hand, if the defendant does respond the parties will likely need to have a trial.

The post What is an Affidavit Judgment? appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

If you’ve been sued and lost, the creditor will have a judgment against you. The next step is for that creditor to seize and sell your assets to pay down the debt. To do that, the creditor needs help from the sheriff to tag or mark the assets and conduct a public sale. This is what’s known as a sheriff’s levy, and it creates a lien. If things have gone this far, a bankruptcy lawyer is not far off.

Once the sheriff has levied on property, he has two choices: levy and leave or levy and take. Levy and leave allows the property to stay where it is, marked so it can’t be moved or destroyed, so that a sale or seizure may occur at a later date. Levy and take means that the sheriff will haul the assets off for safekeeping pending a public auction. Either way the judgment debtor will need to take immediate action to prevent the property from being sold and lost forever.

The post Creditor’s Rights: The Sheriff has Levied on my Property. Now What Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.

Thoughts from a Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney

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A lien is nothing more than a property interest that secures a debt. A judicial lien is a lien that arises after a judgment is entered against a defendant. Generally, a judgment automatically becomes a lien in real estate, that the defendant has in the county. If the sheriff “levies” on property that will also create a lien on that property. The most important thing to keep in mind about a lien is that it relates to a specific piece of property.

Thoughts from a Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyer

Ronald J. Drescher
Drescher & Associates, P.A
10999 Red Run Blvd Ste 205
Owings Mills, MD 21117
Phone: (410) 484-9000
Fax: (410) 484-8120
Rondrescher@Drescherlaw.com
http://www.Drescherlaw.com

FaceTime rondrescher@mac.com
Skype ron.drescher

Practicing in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania

The post Creditor’s Rights: What is a Judicial Lien? appeared first on Baltimore Bankruptcy Lawyer.