When a lawsuit is filed against you by a credit card company or collection agency for a past due debt, there is a limited amount of time to act or a judgment can be filed against you. Once it is filed, the judgment is valid in the state of Florida for 20 years. Judgments may have an interest rate attached to them which is for a set amount or variable, depending on the interest rate set by the office of the Chief Financial Officer of Florida. If left without resolving this debt, in time it may double the original amount owed when the lawsuit was filed.
The State of Florida periodically changes the interest rate for judgments on March 1st , June 1st , and September 1st and December 1st of each year and they are applied for the following 3 months. Beginning October 1, 2020, the interest rate is set to be 5.37% per year or in the alternative, .000146721 per day. As interest accrues daily, your balance owed also increases.
One way to stop additional interest from accruing and resolving a judgment debt is to enter into a payment plan with the creditor through their attorneys. Our office represents many individuals seeking to resolve these types of cases before the debt becomes unmanageable, or worse, before their wages or bank accounts are garnished.
Another way to resolve a judgment debt is to file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Bankruptcy may help in eliminating the responsibility to pay back this debt. If you have other debts, even if they have not been sent to court or collections, these debts may be discharged as well.
For more information or to discuss your options, the Law Office of Alberto H. Hernandez, P.A. is here to help. We are a debt relief firm providing guidance and assistance to those individuals looking to resolve these types of issues. Call our office at 305-820-0334 for more information or to schedule your free consultation today!
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/judgments-and-decrees-interest-rate-set-32
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