subject: Trailing A Judgment Debtor To Find Out Where They Work [print this page] Assuming that your judgment is valid and that you can find your judgment debtor, you have to discover the assets The debtor may have, which might be used to enforce your judgment. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I'm a judgment broker, and not a lawyer. When you ever need legal advice or a strategy to use, you should contact a lawyer.
Where should you focus a debtor investigation? Information on the debtor's available assets are more useful than what their favorite foods are. While some information about the debtor may be useful, it is best to focus only on investigating the debtor's assets.
What available assets does your debtor have, which might be attached with a Sheriff garnishment, which may help satisfy the judgment? The only reason to learn something else about your debtor is if it might lead to finding the garnishable assets they own. As an example, when a debtor claims they're broke, yet the debtor has expensive toys; knowing what those hobbies are might eventually lead to being paid.
Often following a judgment debtor to work or where they bank, gives you all need to know. When they have a job or a bank account, to have a Sheriff garnish them, you need to find out where. Just about the easiest methods of discovering where they bank or work, is to simply follow your judgment debtor as they leave leave their residence to drive to their job. At quitting time, the debtor may even drop by their bank.
Discovering where your debtor banks, is not very easy to find by following their car. Perhaps following them on the weekend might find them visiting their bank. Tracking them is a lot easier when they work and live near you. Tracking and following the judgment debtor can be done with a single car. However, using 2 cars to follow them works a lot better.
When you just have one car, you shouldn't count on hitting pay dirt on your first tracking attempt. When you follow too closely, the debtor may notice, and it will be game over, as the debtor will learn the type of vehicle you drive.
Keep your distance and track their car as far as you can do safely. If you lose them, keep track of the place that you lost their car, and the time of day. Next time, you have two choices. Option one is often tricky: to start again shortly before the place and time that you first lost them; by watching for their car on the road. Option two is easier, to again track the debtor's vehicle right from the beginning, and at first stay farther away from their car, and then stay really close to their car, just before the place that you lost them before, and then drop back once more to avoid suspicion.
Having two vehicles to follow the debtor, allows you to alternate which vehicle remains nearest to their car. This helps eliminate them seeing that the same vehicle is following their car. By using cell phones or two-way radios, both your helper and you can remain in touch and lessen the chance of losing the vehicle in traffic. The trick is to follow close enough that you do not lose visual contact with your debtor's vehicle, while keeping so far away that you will not get noticed.
Another cheap method of discovering the judgment debtor's employer (and maybe also where they bank) is to ask someone that might know. It could be as simple as asking one of your judgment debtor's neighbors or a family member or a friend. Perhaps even better, ask an ex-spouse or ex-friend. They may tell you all kinds of information about them.
If you don't know who the debtor's employer is, however you know what type of work they do, that can provide some ideas for you. If you know they are a plumber, contact the plumbers advertised in a telephone book (or found to be local with a web search) and ask to speak with them. After a few or many attempts, you may find them.
