Judgments / Liens / Levies in Superior Court of NJ, Law Division, SCP

[caustic]

My father has a number of default judgments against him totaling over 100k resulting from credit card debt.

Over the course of this period, my father became disabled and moved abroad. His house here in NJ is all he has to his name.

I have a few questions about the creditors collection abilities:

1) I recently received a "Notice of Levy" to levy upon goods and chattels by a superior court officer. What can they levy upon with this, and how? If it's personal property, how do they determine what belongs to my father? For example, I live in his house - are they going to take my laptop?

2) One of the creditors has foreclosed on my father's home through a couple liens that were placed on the home as a result of the judgment (we mustered enough cash to pay off those liens or work out payment plans to avoid this). I just saw in NJSA 2A:17, however, that real estate CANNOT be sold to satisfy judgment that was entered in the Law Division / Special Civil Part court. Did something slip through the cracks?

3) Is there any way to go back and dispute any of these judgments since they were ALL uncontested? My father has been abroad for over 2 years now, and there's still judgments being entered. The debts have been sold and resold so many times that it's hard to keep track of anything, and I suspect some are double dipping.

4) Some relatives have stepped in to try to help pay off some of the debts. Is there any way that their cash can be guaranteed through a lien/mortgage on the house as well?

Thanks so much for the input.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

1) If you live there then you'll probably be around to discuss this matter with the marshal. This shouldn't present the problem you are expecting.

2) I could be wrong but doesn't NJSA 2A:17-17 say that one cannot sell real estate of an estate to satisfy debts of an executor, etc.? "...by any judgment or execution against executors or administrators..."

3) Unless you have good cause to open the judgments, e.g. they are fake claims, why would a court reopen these cases upon a motion?

4) I'm not sure what you want to do here. It might be a good idea to find out how much cash you have and try to settle the debts, perhaps even for less than the current balance.

2A:17-17. Real estate liable to execution
2A:17-17. All real estate shall be liable to be levied upon and sold by executions to be issued on judgments obtained in any court of record in this State, except the Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part, for the payment and satisfaction of the debt, damages, sum of money and costs so recovered or to be recovered; but no real estate of any testator or intestate shall be sold or in anywise affected by any judgment or execution against executors or administrators. No judgment obtained for the payment and satisfaction of any employment wage tax, including penalties, shall be enforced pursuant to this section.