Chapter 19
Collecting a Judgment
In This Chapter
Determining a postjudgment strategy
Using the courts to help you collect
Garnishing your debtor’s wages and accounts
Targeting assets to pursue
Concluding successful judgment collection
Alot of people believe that if you get a judgment from a court, your debtor must promptly pay you in full, and the matter is over and done with. In truth, the battle for collection probably isn’t over. And in many cases, it isn’t over by a long shot.
Though your judgment is a court order that spells out the amount of money the debtor owes your company, it’s not much more than that. Unless the judge enters a payment provision as part of the judgment, your judgment doesn’t require the debtor to pay off the debt by a certain date.
So then, what’s the point of obtaining a judgment? Why bother filing a lawsuit in the first place? How is having a judgment better than simply continuing with your normal collections process? Rest assured, when it comes to actually turning the debt into money, you gain some real advantages by having a judgment in hand. Although judgments don’t necessarily result in immediate collection without further action, they’re a significant step forward in the process.
Knowing the Basics for Turning a Judgment into Cash
Over the course of collecting accounts, you find debtors who pay the moment they receive your first letter or phone call, as well as debtors who won’t pay and who constantly test you to see how hard you’ll pursue the ...
