How To Turn A Money Judgment Into Money
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Members' Homepage A money judgment is a court decree which states someone owes someone else a fixed amount of money and they are ordered to pay it. The Court will assist in the enforcement of its judgment, for nominal fees, by issuing writs and abstracts relating to the judgment and ordering discovery. However, the prevailing party must initiate and follow through on all collection efforts. Abstract of Judgment
When the presiding judge signs a judgment, the Clerk of the Court can provide an Abstract of Judgment. It will show, among other things, the parties to the suit, the case number, the date and amount of judgment, and the post judgment interest rate. The Abstract of Judgment will be helpful in future collection efforts and it can be recorded in the real property records of every county where you think the party who owes you money may have, or is likely to acquire real property.
Recording fees are nominal and a properly recorded and indexed Abstract of Judgment will constitute a lien on any real property your debtor owns in any county where the abstract is recorded. That even includes real property acquired after the date of recording. Whenever the debtor attempts to mortgage or sell their property, your lien will prevent a title company from issuing the clear title policy, which is always required by lenders. Additionally, some states and many counties now have their real property records available on the Internet. That means that a background search for a loan, tenancy or even employment may turn up your lien and provide new incentive for your debtor to pay you..
Writ of Execution
When landlords successfully evict tenants for nonpayment of rent, they get a judgment for possession and courts costs. If the landlord was granted a money judgment in addition to possession, the Writ of Execution will also order payment of that amount. A writ is obtained from the Clerk of the Court where a Judgment is issued. The Writ commands any Sheriff or any Constable within the state to satisfy the judgment. Fees to execute a writ usually rang from $50.00 to $200.00 but they are reimbursable from any funds collected from the debtor, over and above the amount of the judgment.
Execution of the Writ
Execution of a writ usually means that the Sheriff or Constable will call upon the debtor and request payment in full of all monies owed in connection with your judgment. The officer will inform the debtor that the law empowers them to seize any non-exempt property and sell it to satisfy a judgment. Occasionally the debtor, facing seizure and sale of their property, will simply pay the debt on the spot to the officer. Most others quickly ask for a payment plan, which the owner of the judgment has the right to approve or reject.
If payment is not made, the officer can levy on enough property to pay the judgment in full, including all fees and any additional costs incurred in auctioning the debtors property. In many cases, the officer physically removes the seized property from its location to prepare for selling it at a public auction.
Officers who successfully collect judgments develop an attitude or "presence" which goes a long way toward convincing a judgment debtor they ought to pay what's owed. It's hard to say no to an armed, uniformed officer with a moving van. None the less, some officers are less aggressive than others in seeking out property to seize. It is useful, therefore, to assist the sheriff or constable with information about where the judgment debtor's assets may be located.
Discovery of Assets
If you have collected rents by check in the past from the tenant, you should have information about their bank accounts. You may also have information about property that the tenant owns.
In many states the Rules of Civil Procedure provide for the owner of a judgment to engage in post judgment discovery of assets. For example, you can call a debtor back in to court to inquire about what a debtor owns, where he keeps his property, in whose name his property is held, where he banks, who owes him money, and whether he is a beneficiary under a will or trust. Through questions such as these, you can learn a great deal about what property can be seized by the sheriff or constable to pay your judgment.
You can send written questions, known as interrogatories, which must be answered under oath. You can also request that documents be made available to you for inspection and copying. The type of documents you would seek would include copies of promissory notes payable to the judgment debtor bank account information, deeds and any documents that you could then provide to the officer as he seeks to collect your judgment. You can even take the depositions of third parties, other than the judgment debtor, seeking to ascertain what assets are available to satisfy your judgment and where they are located.
Also see: Garnishment
RHOL members will find significantly more information in our Collecting e-course
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