How long does a debetor have to collect before the debt becomes nul and void?

Creditors can try to collect forever. The SOL for filing suit is different for different kinds of debt in different states. Once this SOL is past, you can not successfully sue you for the debt. If you are sued after this SOL is up, you have to tell the judge that the debt is past the SOL. That along with a copy of a credit report showing the DOLA is more than the SOL. Most debt will then fall off your CR's after 7 years. The OC has 7 years from the charge off date to claim the loss on tax returns. Most credit card issuers will claim this the next year after to get the loss off their books. This is called 'writing off the debt'. At this point the debt is erased from the OC's general ledger. Once this happens, the debt no longer exists. A debt collector can still try to collect on it, but, you no longer have an obligation to pay. This is a good defense for Debt buyers.