Debt can be a handy tool for purchasing property or assets that you cannot finance in a lump sum. At the same time, it can become a burden if your income is reduced, you lose your job, or take on more debt than you can handle. In the event of excessive debt and absolutely no way out, your last resort is to apply for bankruptcy.

Minnesota is in the Eighth Circuit, which includes the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas. Nevertheless, cases from other circuits may be helpful in understanding the law.

The Minnesota Legislature recently passed a small but helpful change in the garnishment law.

Over the years, education loans, medical bills, and mortgage repayments can soon pile up, which can leave you saddled with debt. So to help you avoid making basic errors when dealing with insurmountable debt, Sam Calvert, Attorney at Law, has put together a list of the most common mistakes people make when in debt.

A little background:  Most real estate in Greater Minnesota is "abstract property".  In Hennepin and Ramsey much of the land is "Registered property", a/k/a "Torrens property".  For this post I will ignore Torrens property. When a judgment is entered and docketed in District Court, the judgment becomes a lien on all abstract property in that county.  The lien does not "attach" to property which is homestead property under state law;  however, there is no way to determine if a piece of land is homestead or non-homestead.  So, practically, a judgment is an apparent lien on any real estate you may…