Month: November 2022

Have you ever had to file a judgment against someone and after it being granted had difficulty collecting what was owed to you. Under the law, a judgment is a legally enforceable obligation against another party, and it is your responsibility as the creditor to collect on the judgment granted to you. When a court resolves a civil lawsuit, the court renders a civil judgment. The civil judgment is the official decision by the court regarding a dispute between the parties. In this article we will discuss who is responsible for collecting on a judgment and the process of how to obtain the debts that are owed.

What is a Judgment and Who Collects It?

A judgment is a decision made by the court that one party owes money to another party. A judgment is only a legal ruling and does not mean you automatically are granted the money owed to you. It is up to you as the Judgment Creditor to obtain the money owed to you from the Judgment Debtor. You initially have a declaration by the court that another party owes you money, however it does not give specific instructions on the payment process of the judgment. Therefore, you as the creditor must enforce the judgment on your own terms. This can be a tricky process, but there are many options in executing your judgment.

What is Post-Judgment Discovery?

To effectively execute on a judgment, the Judgment Creditor must first know where to discover the Judgment Debtor’s assets. This calls for a Post-Judgment Discovery process, which is crucial to garnishing accounts and seizing property. After the judgment is granted to you, as the Judgment Creditor you are allowed to request from the court an order demanding the Judgment Debtor to appear at a hearing to answer questions, under oath, regarding their assets. Without knowing this information, collecting on your judgment would be nearly impossible. This process is called a Hearing on Assets or “HOA”. To conduct this hearing, the Judgment Creditor must file an application or motion for the hearing and request that the Judgment Debtor disclose specific information regarding their assets.

These assets can consist of:

• Bank Account information
• Tax Returns
• Titles to Property (Vehicles/Real Estate)
• Business Documentation
• Certificates of Stock/Articles of Organization
• Etc.

How to Collect on a Judgment?

Being granted a judgment is the first step in the collection process. There are various ways you can collect on your judgment, these include:

• Attachments
• Executions
• Garnishments

Attachment is the process of seizing someone’s property to collect on a judgment. In realistic terms, you are “attaching” your judgment to the Judgment Debtor’s assets. Some methods of carrying out an attachment in Oklahoma include recording a judgment, seeking a garnishment, or having the court issue a writ of execution to the sheriff.

• Recording a judgment with the County Land Records, is the simplest form of attachment. Here you would report your judgment with the County Clerk (different from the Court Clerk), in the same county in which the Judgment Debtor retains any real estate. This way when someone reviews the title or deed, they will be notified of the judgment and if the property is sold or bought, the judgment must be paid first.

Executing a Writ is a court order to the Sheriff to execute the judgment by confiscating the Judgment Debtor’s personal property. The Sheriff may only seize the property specified in the writ. A write can be specific or general depending on what needs to be seized.

Garnishments are a very efficient way to collect on a judgment. This is when the court orders a third party to provide money to the Judgment Creditor that would otherwise be owed to the Judgment Debtor. This could be in Continuing garnishments with wages from their job for example or Noncontinuing garnishments with a bank levy for example.

Hiring an Attorney to Assist on Collecting a judgment

The Judgment Creditor has the choice of obtaining an attorney to aid in collecting on their judgment. The Judgment Creditor is entitled to post-judgment cost and attorney fees. Therefore, some of the further cost may be attached to the overall amount owed of the Judgment Debtor. A common arrangement in hiring an attorney is a contingency agreement in which the attorney is paid a percentage of the amount collected from the judgment. With this situation, the attorney does not collect a fee of percentage unless the client collects on their judgment. If you need assistance enforcing a judgment in Oklahoma, call Aaron Bruner, Attorney at Law for a consultation today.

You have just gone through the process of obtaining a legal judgment against someone who owes you money, only to realize that person has moved to another state, or their assets and businesses are in another state, what do you do now? With the judgment being granted by the court on your behalf, it is now your responsibility, as a creditor, to collect on the debt owed to you by the opposing party, the debtor in this case. When the debtor still lives in the same state, the process can be mundane but often people relocate or move their assets for several reasons. You are entitled to your judgment, no matter where the other party resides. In this article we will assess what a judgment is and how to domesticate it in another state, as well as how to collect on that judgment once authenticated.

What is a Judgment?

A judgment is a court’s final decision on which party is responsible for obtaining what and how much. A judgment in one state can be enforced in another state under the United States Constitution, with supplementary federal and state statues. Oklahoma State Statute 12 O.S. § 682 (OSCN 2022) states, “A. judgment may be given for or against one or more of several plaintiffs, and for or against one or more of several defendants; it may determine the ultimate rights of the parties on either side, as between themselves, and it may grant to the defendant any affirmative relief to which he or she may be entitled”. Once you have filed a suit and obtained a judgment against another party, now granted by the court you have a declaration that the other party owes you that money. This makes the judgment legally enforceable against the opposing party no matter what state they reside in.

What are the Steps of Domesticating a Judgment in Oklahoma?

Once you have been granted a Judgment, it is up to you to obtain the payment from the debtor. Although the judgment will not specify how to obtain payment, there are a few ways to enforce a judgment in Oklahoma.

Judgment enforcers:

• Garnishment
• Attachment/Execution
• Lien Foreclosure

The first step in domesticating a judgment is having your judgment authenticated by a court clerk in the foreign state of the debtor before you can begin the collection process. Oklahoma law states, “A copy of any foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with the applicable Act of Congress or of the statutes of this state may be filed in the office of the court clerk of any county of this state. The clerk shall treat the foreign judgment in the same manner as a judgment of the district court of any county of this state. A judgment so filed has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses, and proceedings for reopening, vacating, or staying as a judgment of a district court of this state and may be enforced or satisfied in like manner. Provided, however, that no such filed foreign judgment shall be a lien on real estate of the judgment debtor until the judgment creditor complies with the requirements of subsection B of Section 706 of this title.” 12 O.S. § 721 (OSCN 2022).

The second step in domesticating a judgment, which is to be completed at the same time as authenticating with a court clerk, is a Notice of Filing of Foreign Judgment and a Judgment Domestication Affidavit. These documents legally list the name and addresses of the creditor (Plaintiff), the creditor’s attorney, and the debtor (Defendant).

With notice, 20 days after filing these documents, Full Faith and Credit is given to the State of Oklahoma to recognize and enforce your judgment and is treated the same way an Oklahoma judgment would be moving forward.

How to Collect on your Judgment Once Authenticated?

After you have authenticated your foreign judgment against someone, you will want to proceed with investigating their assets, a process also known as post-Judgment discovery. You will want to ask a court to order the debtor to appear for a hearing to disclose a complete report of their assets to better help you assess how you can enforce your judgment.

A list of such assets could include:

• Several years of tax returns
• Titles to vehicles & real estate property
• Certificates of stock or articles of organization
• Other documents that would demonstrate ownership of a company
• All bank accounts & recent bank statements

Judgments can be implemented through practices like, wage garnishments, levies on bank accounts, and liens on property. When collecting on your judgment it might be beneficial to hire a lawyer to help enforce it. You are entitled to post-judgment costs and attorney fees, therefore the fees that are charged by the lawyer will be added to the balance of your judgment and the debtor is furthermore responsible for such balance. A common negotiable with hiring a lawyer is the lawyer taking a percentage of whatever sum is collected, as it is collected. Doing so balances the monetary risk with both the lawyer and client seeking collection.

Conclusion

Seeking a judgment can be a daunting process, and even more, collecting on that judgment when it requires domesticating in a different state than it originated. Being informed on how you can acquire what you are entitled to, is significant in obtaining the debt owed to you and doing so in an efficient way fundamental to the law.

Learning how to write a demand letter can save you time and money in receiving payments in disputes.

For example, if people owe you money, damage your property, sell a defective product, breach of contract, et cetera, you might want to manage it yourself by sending a demand letter.

However, if you are not aware of how to write demand letters, you might need help. Therefore it helps learn the elements of writing a strong demand letter to ensure you get paid whatever you are owed before seeking legal recourse.

Demand letters notify individuals or companies that you are considering legal action against them. If you know how to do it, you can write a demand letter yourself or hire a business lawyer in Tulsa to help you achieve your goal.

However, you must initially check the rules of your state and local courts if you are planning legal action to ensure you don’t need an attorney to present the letter.

What Are Demand Letters?

Demand letters serve many purposes. First, it enables you to write to an individual or company to let them realize they owe you money and you intend to collect it.

Demand letters deliver excellent outcomes when the individual or company owing you money realizes they are on notice. They might decide to pay what’s owed to ensure you don’t take the matter further.

The payment you receive will save time and money for everyone and prevents the need to hire a lawyer to write demand letters in Tulsa, OK.

You might confront a situation where an individual or a company realizes they owe you money but put the issue on the backburner or believe you are not moving forward to collect your payment.

It indicates they are wilfully refusing to pay for perhaps ignoring you. You are entitled to manage the finances owed, and the purpose of the demand letter is to set forth your expectations.

If it is a factual dispute, it can open the doors to negotiation preventing the need to go to court and start legal proceedings.

What Is a Demand Letter from an Attorney?

A demand letter from an attorney establishes facts by taking all information from you without assuming everyone has the points you do.

Lawyers write your version of the facts to ensure that if you have to seek legal recourse, you have documentation stating the nature of the dispute.

Demand letters from attorneys provide sufficient context for people or companies unfamiliar with the situation to understand the reality.

Lawyers include facts to state your attempts to resolve the dispute failed and refer to conversations, emails, or other communication indicating legal action is a last resort.

Lawyers try to refer to evidence such as contracts wherever available without including the document with the demand letter.

For example, they might refer to an agreement between you and the individual or company in that they agreed to pay you $ 100 for services provided, mentioning the date and time on the contract.

If you have evidence regarding the agreement, lawyers highlight the point because although illegal to destroy evidence, it can happen frequently.

Attorneys ensure they are clear about the evidence and have information that the recipient also possesses, making it essential if you have to explain it in court.

When attorneys send demand letters, they make a ‘demand’ by mentioning specific details about the claim you want to make.

For example, if someone drove into your property, causing damages and requiring you to spend money, attorneys outline your specific demands mentioning every detail with the costs of material damage, labor costs, and the charges for maintaining the repairs until they stabilize.

They also explain why the recipient must pay for the damage holding them at fault for the incident.

What Happens After My Lawyer Sends a Demand Letter?

When your lawyer dispatches a demand letter to an individual or company, they set forth the money owed to you, specifying how you expect the payment.

If you are not in a position to accept payments in installments, lawyers specifically inform the recipient that if your requests are not met, you plan to file a lawsuit to collect the money.

Lawyers are specific with the details they mention in demand letters realizing that if the recipient doesn’t meet your need for demands, the only recourse available is a lawsuit.

They ensure the demand letter is not threatening or accusing anyone but merely advising the recipient of your intention to start legal proceedings if your demands aren’t acceptable to bring the matter to an amicable solution.

If you don’t know the legal aspects of writing a demand letter, Aaron Bruner Law can assist you in writing these letters for civil lawsuits. Please do not hesitate to contact them for assistance with your demand.