Justice! The feeling of winning your lawsuit. Now all you need to do is wait for the check to come in. Except there are many times when it doesn't. Didn't our great and powerful court system award you these funds? Absolutely. However this is just an official IUO, sometimes you need to go get the money yourself, that is, if it even exists.
Unfortunately, the numbers don't lie. About 30% of judgments get collected. Sometimes you get lucky. The Judgment Debtor has the money, and they pay. Simple as that. Most of the time, its gonna take a bit more work.
The first thing you have to consider when collecting on a judgment is if its worth your time. There are many people out there who get sued and will never have the money to pay. Its a fact of life. Could you garnish their paycheck from Mcdonalds and get your judgment payed off by this century? Possibly. But they may just quit that job after the first garnishment and work for their uncle under the table.
Its crucial that you look at the information available. First, has this person or entity been sued before? Maybe many times? Good luck. Do they have a job? A bank account? Assets? Anything of any value? If not, your better off cutting your losses, or hoping that in the next 10 years your Judgment debtor gets their life together and starts making some serious money.
But what if they do have something of value? The first thing you have to do it find it.
Real assets like houses, cars, boats, jewelry, and bank accounts can be located with the right tools. Often times people with judgments will falsely transfer these or hide these things with friends and relatives.
If the Debtor is a business owner, you have options like till taps and keepers, basically physically sending the sheriff to collect your money from the register. Businesses can be better candidates for levies to bank accounts as they often need to keep some working capital on hand, the key is finding the best day to execute your levy. The day the bank account is at its monthly peak.
Does your Judgment debtor own an apartment complex? Even better. Get a writ to assign those rent payments to you instead.
Wage garnishment can be a valid option, but if the Judgment debtor is not particularly attached to that job, they can quit and keep you guessing as to where they are getting their income now.
If you have questions or need info about Judgment enforcement send us an email. We do take on a limited number of enforcement cases in the right circumstances. Also, often times we can simply get you the info you need to get the job done yourself.
In any case we will do our best to answer any questions you might have.
info@rushintel.com