Search This Blog

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Methods for collecting unpaid judgments in California



Methods for collecting unpaid judgments in California are is the topic of this blog post which discusses some of the more common methods for collecting on an unpaid judgment in the State of California.  Unpaid judgments are very common as there are estimates stating that approximately 80% of judgments are never collected.

I have been collecting unpaid judgments in California since 1992 when I worked in industrial property management and over the years I have collected on many judgments both large and small both as an employee and as a judgment recovery professional.

Anyone who has ever obtained a judgment soon discovers that while the Court may enter the judgment they will not collect it for you.  Realistically few if any judgment debtors ever voluntarily pay a judgment which means that the judgment creditor is responsible for collecting the judgment although the Court will issue certain documents that are very useful in collecting on a judgment such as writs of execution, abstracts of judgment, order to appear for examination for a judgment debtor, etc.

There are two major collection methods that can be used in collecting an unpaid judgment which are discussed briefly below.  Anyone attempting to collect on an unpaid judgment should carefully consider which of the two methods they wish to use.

The first method is what I call the active method. The active method involves actively taking steps to collect the judgment such as levying on bank accounts, scheduling judgment debtor examinations, serving wage garnishments, requesting assignment orders, etc.  The active method is my personal favorite method for collecting on judgments as it increases the odds of collection
although it does have one major disadvantage which is that it takes time and money to pursue the active method of judgment collections. Another disadvantage is that it may persuade the judgment debtor to take certain actions to avoid having to pay the judgment such as filing for bankruptcy, moving out of state, etc.

The second method is what I call the passive method. The passive method only works in cases  where you know that the judgment debtor owns or has an ownership interest in real property located in a certain county.  In that case you could record an abstract of judgment in the county where the real property is located and that will place a recorded lien on any present or future ownership interest by the judgment debtor in any real property located in that county that will last in most cases until the judgment expires or the judgment is paid off.   Another situation would be if the judgment debtor owns a business in which case you can file a notice of judgment lien with the California Secretary of State. The major advantage of the passive method is that in most cases it takes less time and money to utilize the passive method. However the major disadvantage to the passive method is that you may have to wait a long time before the judgment is paid off.

This blog post is merely an overview of the basic strategy for California judgment collections.  While some individuals do well collecting their own unpaid judgment many do not have the time, money or inclination to attempt collection on their own.  Those individuals may want to consider assigning the judgment to a judgment recovery professional.

The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, has collected unpaid California judgments since 1992 and has also worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 as a freelance paralegal.  

You can view portions of over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation at http://www.scribd.com/LegalDocsPro

*Do you want to use this article on your website, blog or e-zine? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: “Stan Burman is the author of over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation and is the author of a free weekly legal newsletter. You can receive 10 free gifts just for subscribing. Just visit http://freeweeklylegalnewsletter.gr8.com/ for more information.

Follow the author on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LegalDocsPro

View sample legal document packages for sale by going to http://www.legaldocspro.com/downloads.aspx

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Turnover order in California



A turnover order in California is the topic of this blog post. Code of Civil Procedure section 708.205(a) authorizes a Judge or Commissioner to issue a turnover order. These are used in judgment collections in California by a judgment creditor or assignee of record after the conclusion of a judgment debtor examination.

One of the advantages of using a turnover order is that if the judgment debtor is personally served with a copy of the turnover order and fails to comply they can be held in contempt of Court for violating an order of the Court. This can be a powerful leverage if used in the right situations particularly where the judgment debtor examination discloses the existence of non-exempt property. The turnover order also creates a lien on the property or debt.

Code of Civil Procedure section 708.205 states that,

“(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), at the conclusion of a proceeding pursuant to this article, the court may order the judgment debtor’s interest in the property in the possession or under the control of the judgment debtor or the third person or a debt owed by the third person to the judgment debtor to be applied toward the satisfaction of the money judgment if the property is not exempt from enforcement of a money judgment. Such an order creates a lien on the property or debt.

(b) If a third person examined pursuant to Section 708.120 claims an interest in the property adverse to the judgment debtor or denies the debt and the court does not determine the matter as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 708.180, the court may not order the property or debt to be applied toward the satisfaction of the money judgment but may make an order pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 708.180 forbidding transfer or payment to the extent authorized by that section.”

Anyone attempting to collect an unpaid judgment in California should consider the use of a turnover order at the conclusion of any Judgment Debtor Examination. Note that some Judges and Commissioners may order the property turned over to the levying officer which is the County Sheriff in most cases although some may considering ordering the property turned over directly to the judgment creditor or assignee of record, particularly cash.

Attorneys or parties in California who would like to view or download a free sample turnover order for California in Microsoft Word format designed and used by the author of this blog post can use the link shown below.

Sample turnover order for California 

Attorneys or parties who would like to view portions of over 250 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation sold by the author of this blog post can use the link shown below.

View over 250 sample legal documents for sale

The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is an entrepreneur and freelance paralegal who has collected unpaid California judgments since 1992 and has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995.

*Do you want to use this article on your website, blog or e-zine? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: “Stan Burman is the author of over 255 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation and is the author of a free weekly legal newsletter. You can receive 10 free gifts just for subscribing. Just visit http://freeweeklylegalnewsletter.gr8.com/ for more information.

Follow the author on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LegalDocsPro

You can view sample legal document packages for sale by going to http://www.legaldocspro.com/downloads.aspx

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.
 


Thursday, January 1, 2015

Sample divorce documents for California



Divorce documents for California are now on sale from LegalDocsPro!

LegalDocsPro offers the California dissolution (divorce) document collection which now contains contains over 45 documents with a list price of over $475.00 if you purchased each individual document separately but you can purchase the collection for only $99.99!. This document collection was just updated on December 30, 2014 with 20 new documents and is a great bargain at a discount of over 75% off!


The divorce documents for California dissolution (divorce) cases that are included in this package are:

Bifurcation of Divorce in California newsletter issue
California Child Custody and Visitation Modifications newsletter issue
FREE Legal Research Links for California and Federal law
Motion for Attorney Fees in Divorce Case in California
Sample Custody Stipulation for California
Sample Deposition Notice in California
Sample Evidentiary Objections in California Divorce
Sample Ex-Parte Application for Continuance of Trial Date in California
Sample Ex-Parte Application for Extension of Time to Plead in California
Sample Marital Settlement Agreement
Sample Motion for Reconsideration in California
Sample Motion for New Trial in California

Sample Motion for Set-Aside of Interspousal Quitclaim Deed in California
Sample Motion to Vacate California Divorce Judgment
Sample Motion to Vacate Divorce Judgment for Duress
Sample Motion to Vacate Divorce Judgment for Fraud and Perjury
Sample Motion to Vacate Divorce Judgment for Mistake
Sample Motion to Vacate Divorce Judgment under CCP section 473
Sample Motion to Vacate Property Settlement Agreement for California
Sample Motion to Vacate Stipulation under CCP section 473
Sample Notice to Appear at Trial and Produce Documents in California

Sample Opposition to Motion for New Trial in California
Sample Opposition to Motion for Reconsideration in California
Sample Opposition to Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement in California
Sample Opposition to OSC to Modify Spousal Support in California
Sample Points and Authorities for Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement in California
Sample Points and Authorities in Support of OSC to Modify Child Support in California
Sample Qualified Domestic Relations Order in California

Sample Renewed Motion in California
Sample Request for Production of Documents in California
Sample Request for Statement of Decision in California
Sample Responses to Family Law Form Interrogatories in California
Sample Responses to Requests for Production of Documents in California
Sample Stipulation for Bifurcation of Marital Status in California
Sample Supplemental Discovery Request in California
Sample Trial Brief for California Divorce case
Uncontested Divorce in California newsletter issue

For more information on this document collection view and click on the document below. 



The author of these sample documents, Stan Burman, is an entrepreneur and freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation.



If you are in need of assistance with any California or Federal litigation matters, Mr. Burman is available on a freelance basis. Mr. Burman may be contacted by e-mail at DivParalgl@yahoo.com for more information. He accepts payments through PayPal which means that you can pay using most credit or debit cards.


You can view portions of over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation at http://www.scribd.com/LegalDocsPro

Stan Burman is the author of over 255 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation and is the author of a free weekly legal newsletter. You can receive 10 free gifts just for subscribing. 
Just visit http://freeweeklylegalnewsletter.gr8.com/ for more information.

Follow the author on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LegalDocsPro

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of these sample documents and newsletter issues, Stan Burman, is NOT an attorney and while the author has taken great care in preparing these sample documents and newsletter issues he cannot guarantee any specific results. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in the sample documents or newsletter issues is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in these sample documents and newsletter issues have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in these documents and newsletter issues is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.



Tenant defense documents for California