Thanks for the email. I'm sorry I missed your second post. I've been on course and fairly busy.
You didn't mention in your first post that a judgment had been obtained against you. This is serious business because Ontario judgments last 20 years and writs last 6 years. As well, writs can be renewed even after they expire upon filing a special court application or motion and paying a fee. You should NEVER NEVER ignore a court judgment against you or even allow someone to obtain one in the first place. If the interest has ballooned the oustanding amount to over $12K, the plaintiff could get a writ of seizure to force you to sell your home, seize your car or freeze your bank accounts. I don't know what personal reasons your husband may have had for not responding but surely they were not sufficiently important in comparison with the potential consequences of ignoring it.
Before I get into writ details, their enforcement and fees etc., you need to check with the same Small Claims Court office that the judgment was obtained in back in 1996 and see if it's still in the court records. This is important because the plaintiff will need a copy or proof of it in order to give the sheriff's (bailiff's) office to enforce any writ issued by the courts against property or income you have. Next, check with the local sheriff's office (listed under "Enforcement of Writs," "Courts" section of the blue pages.) to see if any writs have been issued against your husband's name. I'm familiar with the ones in the GTA, but you didn't say where in Ontario that you lived. You'll need to go in there in person to have a writ search done since a fee of around 12 dollars is applicable. Do NOT neglect to do this.
Before I get into a lot of complicated stuff about writs unnecessarily, check those 2 things out first and get back to me.
I also have to wonder about the validity of the court judgment from 1996. The old limitation period was 6 years from date of last payment or written acknowledment of the debt. Since the court filing was in Dec.,1995 and you say the debt was defaulted on some time during 1988 or 1989, that may be over the then existing limitation period. If so, it's slightly possible to file a motion to have the judgment rescinded. I say "slightly" because the Small Claims Court Act of Ontario says that the motion to set aside a judgment must be filed as soon as posssible as soon as the defendant learns of it. However, you've had notices about it buried in your house for years.
Also, I'm confused about your calls or letters regarding the delinquency supposedly from the credit bureau. Are you sure this wasn't from some debt buyer or collection agency? Credit Bureaus don't make phone calls or send out unsolicited letters about bad debts.
From my remarks, it should be obvious that while that while judgments and other negative items will disappear off your credit report after 6 years, the consequences of a judgment may well not. Especially important since you are now considering obtaining a mortgage. People think that after all these years creditors have forgotten about them. Not necessarily!!!! They often just sit back, biding their time and waiting for an opportune time to strike; if you'll excuse the oxymorons, any half-decent debt buyer or collection agent will tell you this. Pull your credit reports from BOTH TransUnion and Equifax and see what enquiries are listed on there about you.
Ray