If I have financial judgments against me, and I register a car in my name, can that car be taken from me as an asset to pay the judgement. D...

Question

If I have financial judgments against me, and I register a car in my name, can that car be taken from me as an asset to pay the judgement. Does the DMV give my registration information automatically to creditors? The car will be registered in Florida, but the judgments are in New York.

Answer

Hello,

The creditors who hold the judgments would have to go through a process of filing those judgments in Florida. This is called domesticating the judgments. If that happens, you will have notice of it. If they do that, then the judgments will become enforceable in Florida and the creditors could ask the Sheriff's Office to seize your vehicle and sell it. You have a $1,000 exemption in a vehicle, meaning that you can keep $1,000 in value from any car. If your car is worth less than $1,000, then it would not be sold. If it is worth more than $1,000, then you would get $1,000 back out of the sale and the rest would go to the creditor to pay down the judgment. You may be eligible for other exemptions too.

You may want to consider filing for bankruptcy. That would likely wipe out the judgments entirely. Our office is local and we offer a free initial consultation. We would be happy to discuss the situation with you.

Answer

See www.ConsumerLawyerHelp.com for an article on garnishment.