subject: From Writ To Sheriff Sale [print this page] I'm a judgment referral expert, and not a lawyer. My articles are my opinions, and is not legal advice. If you ever want legal advice or a strategy to use, you should contact an attorney.
An execution of a judgment is a procedure which begins when a judgment owner pays a proper officer of the court (most often the Sheriff) to levy the of the property of the debtor, with a goal and purpose of selling it to repay the judgment on your judgment debtor. Judgment execution rules can vary by state and jurisdiction.
Judgment executions generally require four steps:
1) A judgment creditor learns about an available asset of a judgment debtor, and where it is located.
2) The judgment owner buys a writ (named a FiFa in certain states) from their court.
3) A judgment creditor contacts the Sheriff to discover the required paperwork, costs, and policies; to garnish a judgment debtor's assets. The judgment creditor supplies their court's writ, fees, and required documents, and possibly their letter of instruction; to a Sheriff (or other official officer, perhaps the Constable or Marshall). Your court will explain how it's done where you live.
4A) If your debtor's assets are cash, from bank accounts or wages (where local laws allow), a Sheriff attempts to levy (named a garnishment in certain states), and when it is successful, will eventually pay a judgment creditor; sometimes deducting a small fee for every check issued.
4B) When a debtor's properties are physical assets, some examples would be, a vehicle, real estate, a coin collection, a flat-screen TV, a pet, and many other types of non-fungible assets; the Sheriff charges a hefty fee to the judgment owner, then levies the asset, and schedules it to be sold at a Sheriff auction at a future date.
After a Sheriff is paid the required fees, and gets some time, they will take the judgment debtor's property, having a plan for selling the asset by auction. If an auction proceeds successfully, the Sheriff subtracts the auction costs, and whatever money remains, they send to the judgment creditor, towards satisfying the judgment.
Of course, nothing is certain. After a judgment creditor pays the Sheriff and provides the writ and the correct paperwork, including instructions which list which property is to be levied; the Sheriff will attempt to garnish their assets.
When a judgment debtor's property is hidden or locked up, Sheriffs usually will not garnish the asset, and the judgment owner must then try to obtain a court order, for the Sheriff to (e.g.) hire a locksmith to pick the locks, or a "break in order", to enter a property to seize a debtor's physical asset.
When a Sheriff is able to levy the debtor's asset, anything could happen. If the debtor doesn't wish to lose the property scheduled to be auctioned, they can repay the judgment debt and related expenses prior to the sale happens. If they pay off your judgment, they get their asset back.
Sometimes the debtor files for bankruptcy protection which ends any Sheriff sales and any other collection procedures. Sometimes they claim exemptions that eliminates or reduces the funds available for the creditor. There can be a preexisting loan or lien on the property, which must be satisfied before the judgment owner is paid. These things (or anything else) may happen, at any time between when the Sheriff arrives to garnish the debtor's asset, and long after the date of the auction sale. If nothing stops it, the Sheriff schedules a sale, and advertises the event for people that wishes to bid at auction. If the auction sale is completed successfully, the judgment creditor is paid, minus certain fees and expenses.
If the judgment debtor's levied property doesn't sell at the auction, the asset reverts back to the debtor, and the judgment owner loses whatever they paid the Sheriff and court. For that reason, it makes sense for a judgment owner to attend the sheriff auction sale, and credit-bid on the judgment debtor's property (satisfy the judgment to the extent of the creditor's winning bid) to bid on the debtor's asset, if nobody else bids on it.
