Why shouldn't I use an attorney to enforce my judgment?
You can, if you are willing to put down a retainer and pay a fee of between $125 and $175 per hour, whether they ever recover anything or not. When we enforce the judgment, we DO NOT get paid until we receive money from the judgment debtor.
How about using a collection service?
A collection service may contact the deadbeat and irritate him to death! They may even place a black mark on his credit report. But, they rarely collect! And with the passage of the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act), the debtor has the right to just tell a third-party debt collector to cease all communications
Is there any guarantee that you will be successful?
No. Sometimes there are simply no assets to seize. But you can be sure that we will do our best, because if we are unable to enforce your judgment - we don't get paid! This gives us a serious incentive to succeed!!
Must I pay any of the expenses incurred in enforcing my judgment?
No. In fact, we assign the judgment from you. At the time that we assign your judgment, we've neither have the opportunity nor the legal right to investigate the judgment debtor. We can only do that after filing an 'Assignment of Judgment' with the courts. We then investigate the judgment debtor, and in accordance with the laws of your state, proceed with our enforcement efforts. Only after our investigation can we actually determine the value of the judgment.
How long before I will actually see results?
It all depends on the difficulty in locating the judgment debtor and in uncovering his or her assets. Some debtors are pretty adept at hiding their assets. They appear to live without any 'normal' means of support. We will try our best to get results in the first few weeks, but it could take months in a difficult case.
I have a judgment awarded in one state against a debtor who resides in another state. Can you help?
In most cases, yes. Especially if the judgment debtor answered your complaint or made an appearance at your hearing. If the judgment debtor didn't appear, the judgment is called a 'default judgment' which is usually considered a weaker judgment. So, if the debtor is able to show the court that he was not properly served, or served in the wrong capacity, he can file a motion asking the court to set aside the judgment.
