Judgment collection is also commonly called judgment recovery or enforcement. Judgments are notoriously difficult to collect, despite the fact that a court has ordered the debtor to pay. Actually receiving payment on a judgment from the person who owes money only occurs in a small minority of cases. Statistics show that only 20% to 25% of all judgments are ever fully paid in the US. This is an alarming statistic for those who are owed large sums of money.
This report details methods of actually collecting money that is owed to you from a legally-enforceable judgment.
Judgment Collection Methods
Recovering a judgment on your own is nearly impossible and often leads to stressful confrontations with the debtor. Hiring a debt collection agency can be time consuming and ineffective in the majority of cases. Some private investigators are debt recovery experts and will utilize the following modalities to secure your judgment and get you paid what is legally yours:
Asset searches will reveal real property, liquid assets, titled vehicles and other possessions which can be seized to satisfy the court-ordered judgment.
Skip tracing will find debtors who have run away to avoid paying a judgment.
Wage garnishment will set up a payment schedule to pay down the judgment a bit at a time.
Judgment Enforcement Guidelines
It is usually possible to ask the local sheriff or police to retrieve a judgment, if you can prove that the person can actually pay it. However, this is a very long process and is not available in all areas. Additionally, the cost can be high, especially for large judgments.
Hiring a private investigator is more efficient and can even cost less over the long run, since they will have a better chance of actually retrieving your much deserved money or other compensation. Investigation specialists have all the knowledge and tools to find your debtor, locate their assets and secure your judgment in the shortest time frame.
Judgment Collection with a Private Eye
It may be a good idea to do an asset investigation on the person who owes you money, before even taking the case to court. Legal fees can add up quickly in a judgment case and if the order is not collectable, then this money will simply be wasted, on top of the money you are already owed.
We recommend consulting with a private detective prior to commencing a judgment suit in court. The investigator will perform a background check on the debtor and can give you an honest assessment of your chances at ever seeing the money that is owed to you.
If you decide to pursue the matter and receive a court-ordered verdict, the investigator will already have a sizeable head start on the data they need to collect your judgment, so it is a win/win scenario for sure.