[...]... Obtain a court order requiring the debtor to assign Chapter (transfer) to you certain rights, such as the right to 19 receive royalties or federal wages due the debtor 19 Force sale of real estate Chapter 14 Page 1/5 2 Establish Liens A lien is a legal assertion that you have a claim of a specific value against certain property In another words, a lien changes your general judgment against the debtor... and Can't Do Debtors have certain legal rights and protections, such as the right to appeal their case most of the time, and protections against collection harassment Read Chapter 2 to understand when it's wise to start collecting and Chapter 3 for an overview of actions you must avoid when collecting your judgment 4 Attempt Voluntary Collection A debtor who has lost in court finally may be willing to. .. aggressive collection techniques that will push a debtor into bankruptcy Nor is there any need to do so Judgments last for ten years and can be renewed for another ten years If the debtor is having serious financial difficulties, you may want to wait for his luck to change If the debtor threatens to file for bankruptcy, how can you assess whether he's a real candidate or just threatening to get you to back... to pay you If you get the debtor to make voluntary payments, you won't need to engage in active collection measures But you won't know if the debtor will voluntarily pay unless you ask Chapter 5 gives suggestions for engineering voluntary payment by the debtor Still create liens Even if your debtor agrees to pay voluntarily, you will want to create liens If the debtor stops paying or declares bankruptcy,... book and pay up Collecting the judgment is your job You may have no idea where or how to begin If you' ve already made some attempts at collecting, you may be frustrated and feel like you keep hitting a dead end It's true that some judgments are uncollectible, but those judgments are the minority With information and perseverance, most people can collect what they are owedwithout having to hire an attorney... inadvertently collect more than you' re entitled to, you must return the excess immediately 1 Make a Cost-Benefit Analysis How do you assess how much time, money and energy you' ll have to put out to collect your judgment? The answer, of course, depends on your situation and personality Furthermore, collection can be unpredictable: You may think you can easily garnish the debtor's wagesand then the debtor quits... Wittgenstein and his small bookstore, Protos Small Press knew that Protos did a brisk business and had a relatively extensive inventory Terry owned a BMW automobile, a house and a 25-foot cabin cruiser, which he kept docked at a local marina Small Press discovered that the BMW and boat were heavily financed, and that the cost of having them seized, stored and sold probably exceeded the amount of money Small... due Page 1/4 Nineteen Ways to Collect a Court Judgment Preliminary Steps 1 Place a legal claim (lien) on real estate Chapter 4 2 Place a lien on business property Chapter 4 3 Negotiate voluntary payments Chapter 5 4 Conduct a debtor's examination; can obtain debtor's Chapter money and property at exam 6 Basic Collection Techniques (Least costly, generally most effective) 5 Seize (garnish) wages Chapter... case or your case in regular civil courta California state court, another state court or maybe even a federal court You' ve spent some time celebratingafter all, you were wronged and deserve to be compensated, and a judge, even perhaps a jury, agreed But your celebration is not yet a complete one While the court decided in your favor, the court did not pay you or demand that the defendant pull out a. .. attorney and often without much additional expense If you don't yet have a court judgment This book is for people who already have been to court and been awarded a court judgment If you have not yet filed your case or your case is still pending and you don't yet have a judgment, you' ll need to wait until you get your judgment before using this book If you haven't yet filed a lawsuit, take a look at Everybody's . law in your state. Page iii How To Collect When You Win a Lawsuit (formerly Collect Your Judgment) 4th California Edition By Gini Graham Scott & Attorney Robin Leonard Keeping Up to Date To. Miscellaneous Information About Collections 1/16 2 When to Start Collecting A. How Long Must You Wait? 2/2 B. If You Can't Locate the Debtor 2/5 3 Behavior to Avoid When Collecting A. Debt Collection. Berkeley, CA, 94710. Page v Acknowledgments For the first edition, thanks to: Attorney Michael Perna (of Marsh and Perna, Oakland, California) for his valuable suggestions and guidance in assembling