Confession of Judgement Attorney Alexandria VA
What is a confession of Judgement? Confessed Judgements are a powerful tool here in Virginia. They allow a creditor to jump straight to collections and garnishment should you default on your payments to them. This saves them time and money and takes away your right to a day in court should you wish to fight the claim later on. A creditor with a confessed judgement can simply walk into court with the paperwork and walk out soon thereafter with a judgment against you.
How to Make a Confessed Judgement
A Confessed Judgement in Virginia requires three things: Statutory Language, Designated Attorney-in-Fact, and Specific Venue for Confession. Without any one of these three things, your confessed judgement will fail. The statutory language is a warning to those signing the document that what they are signing is waiving their rights. It must be on the top of the contract or promissory note in bold lettering. The designated Attorney-in-Fact is who is allowed to confess the judgement before the court. The person signing is essentially saying “for the purpose of admitting that I owe money, this attorney can represent me.” Only the Attorney-in-fact can confess a judgment so best practice is to list two or three attorneys in the event one is not available. Finally, a confessed judgement must list which Court clerk the judgement can be confessed to, for instance, the court clerk of Fairfax County Circuit Court. This prevents the signee from having a judgement confessed on his behalf in an unknown jurisdiction. Once you have all three elements, you have a proper Confessed Judgement.
Procedure for a Confessed Judgement
Obtaining your judgement from a properly drafted Confessed Judgement is easy. Simply have your attorney in fact bring the original signed and notarized Confessed Judgement to the specified court clerk and confess it. After Confession occurs the confessed judgement must be served on the debtor. It is best practice to serve the debtor in person. After service occurs, the debtor has 21 days to contest the process of confession. This does not allow the debtor to make any substantive arguments about the contract or performance of the contract. It only allows for the debtor contest the process by arguing that the Confessed Judgment has issues or that the creditor is lying to the court about the amount owed. After 21 days, you will have a judgement that can be enforced in any jurisdiction after recordation. No trial, no pleadings, and no jury. The case is over. That is why the confessed judgment is such a powerful tool in Virginia. If you need to draft a Confessed Judgement in Virginia please find a Civil Law Attorney who can help you if you live near Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington and Prince William counties.
Contact Us
Are you dealing with a confession of judgement? The Mughal Law Firm attorneys are ready to give you the best legal advice in Alexandria, Va. Contact us to schedule a consultation.
