Collecting a monetary award following a civil court victory is sometimes compared to hunting. The winning party, known as the judgment creditor, goes on the hunt soon after the civil case has concluded. But what is he hunting for?
The eventual prey is the money owed under the court’s judgment. But unlike a more traditional hunt, there are other types of prey a judgment creditor must hunt in order to win that ultimate prize. They include income, assets, and judgment debtors themselves.
3 Types of Prey Explained
It would be wonderful if the losing parties in civil lawsuits, also known as judgment debtors, paid in full within hours of a case’s conclusion. But such prompt payment is so rare as to be statistically insignificant. Even the easiest of cases take at least a month or two to settle. The hardest cases can stretch on for years.
Because of the difficulties inherent in judgment collection, professionals tend to focus on the three previously mentioned types of prey. Utah’s Judgment Collectors deals with all three. Here is what they have to say about them:
1. Income
Income is the first thing a professional debt collector will look at. According to Judgment Collectors, this includes both traditional and non-traditional income. Traditional income is that which comes from regular employment. Non-traditional income would include things like inheritances, gambling winnings, hobby income, etc.
A common tool for accessing debtor income is garnishment. Most states allow wage garnishment, the practice of seizing a certain amount of a debtor’s income until a judgment is fully paid. Some states also allow garnishing bank accounts on a one-time basis.
2. Assets
Judgment Collectors says that income alone might not be enough to collect a sizable monetary award. In such cases, creditors are advised to go after assets they can target with either property liens or writs of execution.
A property lien creates a financial interest in the targeted property. The debtor cannot sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the targeted property without addressing the debt attached to it. A judgment lien is very similar to the lien a bank places on a house after writing a mortgage.
A writ of execution is entirely different. It is a court order allowing the local sheriff to seize targeted property, sell it, and forward the proceeds to the judgment creditor.
3. Judgment Debtors
There are times when Judgment Collectors and other professionals actually have to hunt down judgment debtors. The reason is simple: said debtors are trying to hide. They move across town and don’t provide forwarding information. They scrub their social media accounts and changed their phone numbers. Some even flee to other states.
Fortunately, experienced debt collectors know how to utilize tools like skip tracing to find uncooperative debtors. And given the amount of information now available online, it’s nearly impossible for a debtor to hide forever.
Payment: The Ultimate Prize
The ultimate prize for any judgment creditor is full payment. Getting paid not only exonerates the creditor, but it also provides a measure of recompense as recognized by the court. The unfortunate reality is that some creditors try to go it alone and ultimately fail because they are not skilled hunters.
Winning a civil court case never guarantees payment. But it does open the door to a hunt for income, assets, and uncooperative debtors. A skilled hunter can succeed where inexperienced creditors fail. Perhaps that’s the strongest motivation for bringing in a professional right from the start. Why hunt if you don’t know what you are doing? Why take the risk of coming up empty?