subject: Selecting The Correct Name For A Judgment Recovery Business [print this page] I am not an attorney, I am a judgment referral expert (Judgment Broker). This article is my opinion, based on my experience in California, and laws are different in every state. None of my articles can ever be considered legal advice. Whenever you require legal advice or a strategy to use, you should contact a lawyer.
When you form a judgment recovery business, or any business, you will be thinking of and verifying your name for your business. If your name is (e.g.) Frank Smith, you could register a franksmith domain, and do business under your own name. You could then skip registering a fictitious business name (doing business as) registration. However, most people form a business under another name, such as JudmgentsRus, and register a fictitious business name statement.
If you are not an attorney, you can't represent anyone else. When you are a sole proprietor using a fictitious name, when in court, or when signing court documents for judgments you own, you must sign them with your real name. A DBA is you, not a separate entity from you.
The primary advantage to signing court papers using your name and also your fictitious name business name, is if you have a memorable DBA name and you think someone may notice it. That happens much less often than one might think. Signing court papers just with your name, saves you time and hassle.
Note that in most states (one exception is South Carolina) corporations and LLCs cannot represent themselves in court. For the majority of judgment recovery businesses, it is usually best not to form a corporate entity.
If you are going to hire an attorney to represent you or your company in every court matter, or you are part of a collection agency, forming or using a corporate entity could make sense for you.
Creating a corporate entity can be expensive. In California, you need to pay the state $800 per year (even when you lose money), and hire an accountant to file taxes for your entity, etc. It is best to check your local county and state laws, and talk with both a lawyer and an accountant, prior to planning or forming a corporate entity that recovers judgments or debts.
What business name should one use? When you are mailing letters to judgment debtors when you are assigned judgments, one cannot put anything related to judgment collection or debts on the envelope. I manage a judgment-related company, however I do not put my business name on envelopes.
Some data service don't want to see the word judgment in business names. Collection seems to be a better name to them. Also, there are still a few directories that don't have judgment recovery as a category, but collections usually has a category.
The average person starting a judgment recovery business without a name already, you should consider picking a business name and domain name that hints of solutions or problem solving, instead of recovery or collections. Frank Smith could call his company "FS Enterprises". Some people would rather do business with a company, even a fictitious name sole proprietor, than only a person, running a business as a sole proprietor.
It'sIt is not your name, it is what you do with it. What counts is the work you put into marketing your name, and the quality work associated with your name. Some smart people made a company named Google, and now when you think of the word "search", you think of Google.
Many businesses much longer to generate a consistent profit, than the person that started the business ever imagined. This is especially true in most judgment enforcement businesses. On the web, a domain name with words like judgment or enforcement is probably a good idea. Even if your domain name is JudmgentsrUs.com, you can still do business as FS Enterprises, a fictitious name of Frank Smith.
