A court judgment does not pay itself. Judgment enforcement means locating the debtor's bank accounts, receivables and property, then using the tools state law provides, such as bank levies, garnishment of receivables, debtor examinations and liens, to turn the judgment into cash.
What we need
- A copy of the judgment
- Any prior collection history
- Known bank, customer or asset information
Old judgments
Judgments remain enforceable for years in most states and can often be renewed. If you are sitting on old judgments, send them over for a free review.
Enforcement tools, in plain terms
- Bank levy or garnishment: a court order served on the debtor's bank that freezes funds up to the judgment amount
- Garnishment of receivables: an order directing the debtor's own customers to pay you instead of the debtor
- Judgment lien on real estate: recorded in the county where the debtor owns property, so the judgment must be paid when the property is sold or refinanced
- Levy on business equipment, vehicles or inventory, subject to existing secured lenders
- Debtor examination or post-judgment discovery: a court-ordered questioning of the debtor's officer, under oath, about bank accounts, customers and assets
- Charging orders against a debtor's ownership interest in an LLC or partnership, where state law provides for them
Finding assets after judgment
The hardest part of enforcement is knowing where to aim. We start with what you already have: the bank the debtor's last checks were drawn on, its customers, its locations. Then we search UCC filings, which often name the debtor's lender and the collateral it pledged, along with county property records, vehicle and equipment records where available, licensing filings and court dockets for other judgments and lawsuits.
Post-judgment discovery fills the gaps. A debtor's officer who must answer questions under oath about where the company banks and who owes it money often prefers to settle. If assets were moved to an insider or a related company to avoid the judgment, many states' versions of the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act can allow a creditor to challenge the transfer, though that requires a separate legal claim.
Judgments from another state or federal court
Most states have adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, which lets a judgment creditor register an out-of-state judgment in the state where the debtor or its assets are located and then enforce it like a local judgment. A few states use a different procedure, and timelines differ. A federal court judgment can be registered in another federal district under 28 U.S.C. 1963. We handle the domestication through a local attorney before starting enforcement there.
How long a judgment stays enforceable, and whether and how it can be renewed, varies widely by state. Post-judgment interest also continues to run at a rate set by statute in most states, so an older judgment may be worth noticeably more than its face amount.
How an enforcement file runs
We review the judgment, its date and the court, confirm it is still enforceable, and calculate the current balance with post-judgment interest. Next comes asset research and, where needed, domestication in the state where assets are found. Then the local attorney issues the writs, levies or garnishments that fit what we found, usually starting with bank accounts and receivables because they turn into cash fastest.
A levy that hits an operating account often brings the debtor to the table, and many judgments settle at that stage with a lump sum or a short plan. You approve every settlement and every cost before it is incurred, and payments are remitted within 10 business days of clearing.
Frequently asked questions
Can you enforce a judgment from another state?
Usually yes. A judgment can be domesticated in the state where the debtor or its assets are located and enforced there.
What does judgment enforcement cost?
Enforcement is handled on contingency, priced by the judgment's age and size, with court and levy costs disclosed and approved before they are incurred. You pay nothing if nothing is recovered.
The debtor company closed after the judgment. Is it worthless?
Not always. We check for a personal guarantor, a successor business, assets transferred to insiders and money owed to the debtor by its former customers. A closed company can still have receivables or property that a judgment can reach.
Related services
- Commercial collections
- Pre-collection letters
- Legal collections
- International collections
- Skip tracing
- Bankruptcy claims
- Lien & bond claims
Industries we serve
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