cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Hiring an attorney - Is it worth it?

tag
Trying2changeit
Established Member

Hiring an attorney - Is it worth it?

I have two small state tax liens in NJ and a judgement that will fall off in 3 years. None of them are paid, however I'm paying off the two tax liens and then will tackle the judgement.  I live in NC now so showing up to file a motion to Vacate would be nealry impossible at this point. So my question is, should I hire an Attorney to help me with this? From my understanding it's really difficult to remove a state tax lien, but that it also depends on the state. Anyone have any success or has anyone else hired a lawyer who successfully tackled this one?

 

Thanks!

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
trc1962
Regular Contributor

Re: Hiring an attorney - Is it worth it?

I havent tackled exactly what you are, but did enlist an attorney to deal with a garnishment issue on an account I was currently making payments on. It was very expensive, as attorneies have pretty high per hour fees. The problem did get fixed and the CA quit trying to garnish when they were already receiving money, however, the cost was so expensive I think I would do all I could (and then some) to solve the problem myself. My mistake was not asking for estimation of costs beforehand.

Message 2 of 5
kjel
Established Contributor

Re: Hiring an attorney - Is it worth it?

I have an NJ judgment as well for a hospital bill. The bar for what constitutes service is extremely low. The OC/CA's attorney can just send you a copy of the filed lawsuit via regular mail to your last known address. If it doesn't come back to them then you are considered served. The maddening part is that they don't even need to show up to court to get a default judgment against you. I had moved nearly a year before they sent me the filing which was never forwarded so I had no idea until I got an alert saying there was a judgment against me. I called the court clerk who said that I could file a motion to vacate on grounds that I did not receive the notice and tell it to the judge.

 

Other people that I know here in NJ have been successful at getting the judgment vacated and then able to pay off the debt or reach some agreement so they didn't end up back in court. I've also had a friend be able to get the judgment vacated in exchange for PIF through their attorney. I don't feel comfortable doing this pro se, so I have a meeting with a well regarded attorney this Thursday to go over the case and see what course of action is best for me.

Current Score: TU: 674 | EQ: 722 | EX: 717 | Last Inq. 2/16/15...Locked Up in The Garden
NFCU Cash Rewards $14K | Chase Sapphire Preferred $5K | Amex Blue Cash Preferred $6K | Cap1 Quicksilver One Visa $9K

Message 3 of 5
AbsentMindedProfessor
Contributor

Re: Hiring an attorney - Is it worth it?

I am considering it for a small state tax lien that has been paid and subsequently released (but still appears on my credit report, as it has not been withdrawn).  Long story short - I moved out of the state a few months before the tax issue was "discovered" and never received notice (it was a full job change with a change in address, cell phone, etc; moreover the first 3 years of the job had me stationed somewhere new every six months, so I was literally all over the place).  The only "notice" i received was when the money disappeared from my bank account.  

 

I'm trying a few goodwill things myself, but assuming those don't pan out, I think i'll have to end up hiring an attorney and try to pay to make it go away.  The way I see it (cynical though it may be), if someone can all but pay to make a DUI or much more serious offense go away, I have to believe I can throw money at this problem.  




Starting Score: 578 (3/11/13)
Low Score: 501 (9/28/13)
Current Score: 738 (8/7/15)
Goal Score: 720


My Credit Repair Journal
Message 4 of 5
Trying2changeit
Established Member

Re: Hiring an attorney - Is it worth it?

Well, I called and spoke to an attorney in NJ who handles issues with judgements, etc. He said that NJ typically removes state tax lien from your credit reports once you pay them off. He also said that I was just going to be stuck with the judgement on my report but that I could proboably negotiate a reduced settlement with the Attorney who filed the judgement. 

 

I guess we'll see. I'm going to pay this $1,600 lien off next month. Will let you all know.

Message 5 of 5
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.