Collecting on your judgment - Some factors to consider

If you have a California judgment or court order against a party who owes you money, you may want to determine whether the potential recovery justifies the expense, effort, and time needed to pursue enforcement of your judgment or order.

There are many factors to consider in your determination as to whether you wish to pursue enforcement of your judgment or order. Here are eleven factors you may wish to consider:

BEST SCENARIO: LESS DESIRABLE:

1. High dollar judgment or order Minimal dollar value

2. Debtor is an employee Debtor is self-employed

3. Employer does business in California Employer is out-of-state

4. Debtor has high income Debtor has low or fluctuating income

5. Debtor has a home with equity Debtor is a renter

6. Debtor lives close to issuing court Debtor lives out of county, state or country

7. You are close to issuing court Issuing court is not local to you

8. Debtor has other local cases Your case is debtor’s only case

9. Debtor is married Debtor is unmarried

10. Debtor has bank accounts Debtor works on “cash” basis

11. Judgment/order is based on fraud, Judgment/order is issued by civil court, family code, or criminal restitution not based on fraud

We will discuss some of the above considerations in more detail, separately, in future posts.

Disclaimer -

The information in this blog is general in nature. The law is constantly changing, and exceptions, and exceptions to exceptions, run rampant throughout the legal system. Every case is different. You are advised to contact an attorney with any questions you may have about your individual case.