Debts and Limits

• New Jersey's statute of limitations on debts is six years, according to Bankrate.com. This time limit applies regardless of the kind of debt incurred and includes the four main categories of debts: written contracts, oral contracts, promissory notes and open accounts. Open accounts is the category that includes credit cards, even though credit cards come with written agreements.
  
  

Actions

• A statute of limitations governs the time in which one party has to take specific actions. In the case of debts, the statute imposes a limit on when your creditor must bring a lawsuit against you to recover an unpaid debt. As long as the creditor files the lawsuit within that time frame, the court will not dismiss the case for failure to file on time. However, a creditor can still file a lawsuit against you after the time has expired. If that happens, you can ask the court to dismiss the case by showing that the statute of limitations has expired.
  
  

Time Frame

• The statute of limitations determines how long your creditor has to sue you if you ever fail to pay back the debt, but it doesn't start until specific events occur, known as the cause of action. The time doesn't start tolling until you default on the debt or until you fail to miss a payment. If you miss a credit card payment, for example, your creditor has six years from the date when you missed your payment to sue you.
  
  

Other Considerations

• You may be a debtor in New Jersey who has never left the state, but your debt may still be covered by the statute of limitations of another state. Creditors commonly include provisions in their credit agreements that dictate which state's laws govern the debt. These "choice of law" provisions are entirely legal and are just one more reason why you should always read the fine print before entering into any agreement.