Walk It Through: The Debt That Went To Court
A Michigan consumer debt, from the calls at work to the judgment and what it can reach.
A collector starts calling, at work and at home, several times a day.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One consumer debt, from the first calls to the judgment. Garnishment of wages and bank accounts, bankruptcy, federal collection law, and when a particular claim accrued are not covered here, and each has its own rules.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Small claimsThe small claims division every district court has, for cases seeking money up to $7,000.
- Exempt propertyProperty of a judgment debtor and their dependents that a creditor cannot have seized and sold under an execution, as the section lists it, such as household goods up to $1,000 in value.
- Statute of limitationsThe period within which a lawsuit has to be started. For money due under an ordinary contract it is 6 years from when the claim first accrued, and on a Michigan judgment of a court of record, 10 years.