Enforcing a money judgment is more or less collecting the amount you are owed. It should be a fairly straightforward process. But what should be and what actually is are two different things. More often than not, enforcement is difficult. It can be especially difficult when a judgment debtor fails to cooperate in post-judgment discovery.
Post-judgment discovery is the process of gathering information about the judgment debtor’s assets and income. Creditors need this information in order to devise the strategy for moving forward with enforcement. Put another way, a creditor needs to know what assets he can go after before he can come up with a collection strategy.
Judgment debtors and their attorneys know how valuable information is to debt collection. So it is not unusual for debtors to be less-than-cooperative during post-judgment discovery. The big question for creditors is what they can do when they suspect a lack of cooperation
1. Seek a Contempt Order
Although state laws vary in regard to judgment collection, most offer the legal remedy of seeking a contempt order. The actual procedures may have different names in different states. But essentially, the creditor goes back to court seeking an order that compels the debtor to attend a future hearing during which he will furnish documents and answers to written questions.
The written questions are known as interrogatories. And in most states, interrogatories are conducted at the earliest possible date following judgment entry. A debtor failing to respond to interrogatories would be sufficient motivation to seek a contempt order.
In some cases, a contempt order can include an arrest warrant giving the local sheriff authority to arrest the debtor and bring him to court forcibly. Such cases almost always include fines as well.
2. Search Public Records Independently
With or without a contempt order, a judgment creditor can always search public records independently. For example, real estate is a valuable asset that often proves very motivating as a collection tool. The interesting thing is that property records are public records. Every time a piece of real estate changes hands, a record of the transaction is recorded by the county clerk. Anyone can see those records at any time.
Other types of records could prove equally helpful. Records of debtor divorce proceedings could reveal how assets were divided between the couple. Records from probate court can reveal information about inherited property. The list goes on and on.
3. Hire a Collection Agency
Yet a third option is to hire a collection agency with a proven track record of finding hidden assets. Salt Lake City’s Judgment Collectors is the perfect example. They once worked on a case in which a judgment debtor claimed to have no nonexempt assets of any value. Yet through a diligent search of public records and proprietary databases, the agency located an airplane hangar the debtor owned in a neighboring county.
Judgment Collectors informing the debtor of their findings was enough to get his attention. He inexplicably found a way to pay his debt. And why not? He did not want to lose the hangar. Had the collection agency not identified it, the debt could have remained unpaid permanently.
The unfortunate truth is that judgment debtors do not always fully cooperate with post-judgment discovery. Sometimes they actively work to sabotage the discovery process. But with a little knowledge and the help of experienced professionals, it is possible to get around uncooperative debtors.
Their assets can be found if you know where and how to look. And once found, valuable assets make great leverage for convincing debtors to pay what they owe.
