This is the final part of the guide on getting money for your judgment. While the articles were written with California as primary focus, some general principles apply in other states as well. Use the information you've learned from both articles as a starting point in the legal research in your own state. Best of luck!
Get a Writ of Execution
Once you know what debtor's assets can be used to satisfy your judgment, the first step to those assets is usually to ask the court for a Writ of Execution (Form EJ-130). Writ of Execution directs the sheriff or marshal to enforce the judgment in the county where the debtor's assets are located. Writ of Execution is valid for 180 days. Courts handle this procedure differently, so contact your particular judgment court for details.
Garnish debtor's wages, bank account or a safe deposit box
Drop off the Writ of Execution and an Application for Earnings Withholding Order (Wage Garnishment) (Form WG-001) at the sheriff's/marshall's office. You may collect up to 25 percent of the amount over the federal minimum wage that the debtor earns, if the debtor is employed by someone else. You can't garnish a self-employed debtor's wages. You will have to hire a process server or the sheriff/marshall to serve papers on the debtor's employer.
Put a lien on the debtor's real property
A lien allows you to get paid, with interest, when the debtor tries to sell or refinance a house, land or other real property. To avoid waiting for the debtor to sell/refinance, you can also try to foreclose on the lien, if there is enough equity, by forcing the debtor to sell now and pay with the proceeds.
Put a lien on the debtor's lawsuit
If you find out that the debtor has a lawsuit against another party, for approximately $25 you can put a lien on the money that the debtor will be entitled to receive if the lawsuit is successful.
Put a lien on debtor's personal property
You can try to put a lien on the debtor's car, electronics, jewelry, coin collection, etc. The cost of putting a lien on a personal property often does not make it worth the effort.
Ask a lawyer or collection agency for help
A lawyer or collection agency will help you locate debtor's assets and collect on your judgment for a percentage of what they manage to recover. They usually just call, mail out the forms and letters that you have just learned how to prepare yourself.
Contact San Diego business and employment lawyer Sergei Tokmakov now for a free case evaluation or more free business/employment law resources. (858) 205-5665.
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