If you have fallen behind on debt payments, so much so that you are years behind on repaying your debt, and are constantly hounded by creditors and collections agencies, knowing the statute of limitations for your debt can help you defend yourself if taken to court by your creditors and rid yourself of years old debt. The statute of limitations is the amount of time that creditors have to file charges against you after you have missed payments, and this time is unique to Florida.
| Oral Contract | 4 years |
| Written Contract | 5 years |
| Promissory Note | 5 years |
| Open Accounts | 4 years |
This period usually begins on the date of the first missed payment, but some agreements include clauses that require the creditor to contact you about repaying your debt before the statute of limitations begins. Once the statute of limitations expires, your debt will still exist and may very well be listed on your credit report, but you will no longer be legally required to repay the debt, even if the lender continues to harass you or takes you to court, as long as you have proof that the statute of limitations has expired.
There are many different types of debts and each has its own specific statute of limitations. The information below will give examples of the major types of debt agreements and the statute of limitations pertaining to each in Florida (these statutes of limitations apply to agreements either made in Florida or agreements of Florida residents, even if the agreement was made in another state). The first type of debt includes oral contracts and agreements, and the statute of limitations on this type of debt is four years. The next type of debt consists of written contracts which carry a five year statute of limitations. The third type of debt is promissory notes; promissory notes are similar to written contracts in that they are also written agreements that carry a five year statute of limitations, but the main difference between the two is that a promissory note also consists of a detailed schedule of loan repayment as well as information on the interest rate that the loan is borrowed at (an example would be a mortgage). The final major debt agreement is an open ended account. Open ended accounts are revolving lines of credit that can have varying balances, such as credit cards, and these types of agreements have a six year statute of limitation.
On one final note, partial payments on your debt, after the statute of limitations is in effect, do not postpone the expiration of the statute of limitations. In Florida, only written promises to repay the debt have the authority to reset the statute of limitations.
Source:
2012 <http://rebuildcreditscores.com/florida-debt-statute-of-limitations/>.
At The University of North Carolina Wendy plans to actively participate in a student group, Health Focus, which will enable her to use her knowledge and love for health and nutrition to educate youth in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area. She also hopes to promote voter registration amongst her fellow students.
- Statute of Limitations on Debt in Florida - October 14, 2014
- Eliminating Payday Loan Debt Through Consolidation Loans - September 27, 2014
- Statute of Limitations on Debt in Rhode Island - September 10, 2014