subject: Ending A Judgment Enforcement Business [print this page] I'm not a lawyer, I am a judgment brokerI'm not a lawyer, I am a judgment broker. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. If you ever need legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact an attorney.
The economy (and occasionally the laws in certain states) have demoralized most judgment enforcers. Some have closed down and ended their judgment recovery business. Unfortunately, too many have not closed down their business correctly. You must take care when closing a judgment recovery business, and to try to make the best of it.
Part of most decisions to quit a judgment business is the amount of time and money gets used up by not making enough progress with recovering judgments, and listening to Original Judgment Creditors (OJCs) asking you why you aren't recovering some money. As flustered as you may get, when quitting a judgment recovery business, one has to return all the judgments by re-assigning them back to the OJCs.
If you recovered some money on a judgment, pay the OJC their portion at the same time that you assign it back. What if you are short on funds and can't afford to pay one or more OJCs their portion of what was collected? There is not a easy or good solution for this type of situation, and one shouldn't ignore this situation.
If you are low on money, maybe pay your OJC something, and an IOU for the rest, and pay the OJC when you are able. In my opinion it's best to re-assign the judgment and owe your OJC some money, than to avoid re-assign the judgment and owe the OJC money.
What if you paid money trying to recover their judgment, could you request to be paid back prior to assigning back the judgment? My advice is to ask the OJC politely, to be repaid for anything you spent with lasting value, as an example recording liens, affidavits of identity, judgment renewals, getting a debtor examination served (in states where this creates a lien), etc.
Unless the purchase contract specifies that you will be compensated for your costs, I would not recommend strongly insisting on being paid back, particularly for expenses which do not give the OJC a residual value. Of course, each judgment, OJC, situation, and recovery specialist is different. If you paid money attempting to enforce their judgment, try asking to be reimbursed. Consider reaching a compromise when appropriate.
If you are changing email addresses, addresses, or phone numbers, make sure to let people know. Hiding from your business is not a good idea, it's better to work to solve your problem by returning the judgments.
Even if you receive too many emails and calls from concerned OJCs, tell each of them all the same facts: You're closing down your judgment business and you're going to assign back their judgment soon, and to please be patient.
If they respond poorly, inform them you're doing the best you can, and you'll return the judgment soon, and give them a time estimate. The time estimate should be longer than you think it will take you to get done.
Every judgment needs to be individually assigned back to the OJCs. All assignments has to get notarized, and you cannot notarize your own assignments.
After you mail out a returned judgment, call or email the OJC, and let them know you mailed the assignment back to them. If you are ablen, it's best to first get the assignments court stamped to prevent hassles for the OJCs, and complications for you.
Take your time, assigning back judgments requires thinking about the situation involving each judgment. One idea is to return judgments in small groups, perhaps ten judgments per batch. After the details are considered, bring all ten to the notary, and perhaps then have the court to endorse the ten assignments of judgments.
When you call, write, or email the OJC, you could also refer them to a judgment broker that will find an expert to recover their judgment. You may get paid a referral fee for this, making a positive side to closing your business.
Presuming it is not expensive to keep your web site running, even if you leave the judgment business, you should leave it running (perhaps removing your phone number, or getting an internet telephone number to record messages) and forward judgment leads to a judgment referral company that will pay you for the leads.
