subject: Assets And Judgment Enforcement [print this page] When you're recovering judgments, it seems there is no limit on how much you may pay, attempting to discover assets to recover something from your judgment debtor. My articles are my opinions and are not, legal advice. I'm a judgment broker, and not an attorney. When you ever want a strategy to use or legal advice, you should contact a lawyer.
The simple, however expensive way to find any potential available assets of the debtor is to hire a PI, pay an asset location search company, or pay each month for a subscription to a professional data service. The best ones are costly. This article highlights certain inexpensive and potentially time-consuming methods of finding assets of your debtor with public data records. The free and cheap ways are seldom as good as the costly options, however they sometimes work.
A first search to try is the www (Google, Bing, etc.). Try the debtor's name, address, and phone number. Attempt the searches using different quote selections, and maybe also with a couple of spelling variations. When you get no matches, try your judgment debtor's spouse or parent information, when you have it, as that might provide hints on your judgment debtor.
Check the debtor's name on Facebook and/or other social networking web sites, because occasionally people boast on their assets, hobbies, or jobs on the web. Enter your debtor's residence address in Google Maps, to see what the debtor's house or residence is like. When your debtor lives in a dump close to a toxic waste dump and some railroad tracks, they might be judgment-proof, and there is probably no need to perform any more searches.
The next searches are for criminal records, as they show private debtor information and are public data records. Most of those "free criminal record searches" on the web aren't free. I recommend first looking on the web for "yourcity criminal records". You may find a local courthouse on the www where you can search to see if there are criminal records for the judgment debtor.
Unfortunately, most courthouses make you visit the courthouse to copy or view the records and usually you need to pay them. If you cannot go to the court, perhaps it can be done through the mail, or you may need to spend a couple of bucks to those "free" solutions on the web. Pick the web sites that show up on the first couple of pages of a web search.
The next search is for real estate records of the debtor and their parents. The reason for looking also at the property records of the parents of the debtor is to check when they own real estate property. If they do, there is a chance your judgment debtor may inherit them someday. On the www, the free search sites quickly turn into pay sites. Try searching on the web for "yourcounty property records" or "yourcounty, state property records". In certain counties you must visit your county recorder's office, or arrange and pay for a copy of their records by mail.
If practical, drive or walk by the judgment debtor's residence or house, and make note of what cars are parked there, and what can be seen through their windows. Look for clues on toys they may own, being careful not to trespass or cause attention to yourself. This is a long shot as usually window coverings are closed, however sometimes the garage is left open and a brand new motorcycle or boat can be seen. Also, you might try to follow them to their job some morning.
The big guns are debtor examinations and possibly 3rd-party exams. Exams aren't as cheap as they should be, yet after one pays the costs and your expense to have the judgment debtor served, your patience and determination will be the most important considerations.
Unfortunately, car record ownership information from places besides debtor examinations are somewhat expensive; and needs a private investigator, or through other expensive and complicated solutions including your department of motor vehicles. Using judgment debtor and 3rd-party examinations at the court, you can determine possible vehicle ownerships. Debtor examinations and document requests might lead to info about other available assets owned by the debtor.
If the cheap and free asset discovery methods do not pay off, and you believe the judgment debtor has some type of available assets, it may be worthwhile to hire a private investigator to perform an asset check for your debtor.
