Judgment collection services are important when trying to collect a legal judgment.
Your lawsuit is over and you are victorious, but now begins the real work of taking advantage of judgment collection services. You might think the hardest part involves winning your case. That’s true in many situations, but not all. If the defendant is particularly stubborn or has no immediate money to satisfy the judgment, it may be very difficult to collect the judgment you now have. The following is a brief discussion of what your judgment collections options are after you win a lawsuit or have a court enter a judgment against a debtor.
Wage Garnishment
Also called wage attachment, wage garnishment refers to a situation where you (as the creditor) can take a portion of the defendant’s paycheck each pay period. To do this, you’ll need to get the necessary authorization from the court, then notify the defendant’s employer. After that’s complete, the employer will then start withholding a certain amount of money from each paycheck and send it to you. However, if the defendant decides to change jobs, then you’ll have to go through this process all over again.
Property Lien
A property lien is a legal concept where a piece of property receives a “mark” or notice. This lien explains to anyone who looks at the legal records for that property that owner of the property owes a creditor some money. A good example is with real estate.
When a piece of real estate has a lien on it, it becomes more difficult to sell. This is because any prospective buyer will examine the public records and see that the current owner of the property owes a creditor some money. The prospective buyer will also see that the real estate could potentially go to satisfy part or all of that debt. Therefore, if the prospective buyer somehow decides to buy the property without taking the proper steps beforehand, they could easily have the creditor take it away from them. No prospective buyer is going to buy a piece of property with a lien on it unless the seller creates special arrangements to remove the lien.
For example, the seller would have to promise the buyer that after the buyer pays the seller the money, the seller will pay the creditor to make the lien go away. This can make a simple transaction more complex and expensive to undertake. However, it’s a very effective way for a creditor to ensure the debt gets paid.
Property Levy
When it comes to the debtor’s perspective, a property levy is worse than a property lien. This is because a levy means that someone (usually a sheriff) actually comes and takes the property from the debtor. In most situations, the property is then sold, with the proceeds (less the cost of obtaining the property, selling it, etc.) going to you, the creditor. If the proceeds from the sale do not fully pay off the judgment, then you can still go after the defendant for the remaining balance.
Find out what you need to know about judgment collection services by calling the Wilbanks Law Firm, P.C. at (706) 786-4649 now.
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