Winning a civil court case involving a monetary award starts the process of collecting that award. One of the first steps in that process is gathering income and asset information from the debtor. In a perfect world, debtors would voluntarily offer the information immediately and truthfully. But the world is less than perfect. Fortunately, judgment creditors have three powerful discovery tools at their disposal.
Below is a description of each of the tools. If you have recently won a money judgment and you are wondering where to start, you should find this information helpful. You might also want to consider professional help, like Judgment Collectors out of Salt Lake City, UT.
1. Post-Judgment Debtor’s Exam
The first post-judgment discovery tool is known as the debtor’s exam. It is a type of hearing that can be conducted in-person or through videoconferencing. It involves the judgment debtor, his attorney, the creditor and his attorney, and any third parties attached to the case.
During the exam, the debtor must answer questions about income, assets, transfers, etc. The questions are answered under oath. The creditor or his attorney is allowed to ask follow-up questions if the debtor’s answers are insufficient. However, questions not directly pertaining to income and assets are not allowed.
Debtors exams are usually conducted at the courthouse. When circumstances warrant, a court may approve conducting the exam in the office of either attorney.
2. Post-Judgment Interrogatories
Post-judgment interrogatories are designed to produce the same types of information one would expect from a debtor’s exam. The main difference here is that there are no court hearing or answers under oath. Instead, the creditor’s attorney furnishes written questions to the debtor’s attorney. The debtor is expected to return complete and accurate answers within a certain amount of time.
Though interrogatories are not conducted under oath, the answers are still sworn. In other words, the debtor attests under penalty of law that the answers he furnishes are truthful and complete.
In jurisdictions where both interrogatories and debtors exams are available, interrogatories are typically the first choice because they require less time and effort from attorneys, thereby lowering the cost. Some attorneys prefer interrogatories because they create a legal paper trail that can justify a motion of contempt in the event of untruthful answers.
3. Post-Judgment Subpoenas
In a general sense, a subpoena is a court order compelling someone to appear in court for a civil or criminal trial. In the case of post-judgment discovery, subpoenas are normally issued to third parties. These could be a debtor’s:
- Family members
- Close friends
- Coworkers
- Business associates
If the creditor’s attorney believes valuable information could be gleaned, they could subpoena virtually any individual linked to the debtor. For example, the creditor might subpoena the manager of the bank where the debtor holds his accounts. He might subpoena the debtor’s employer.
The point of the subpoena is to reveal information that the debtor has otherwise failed to reveal. Subpoenas are effective because they:
- Can require testimony under oath
- Can compel the production of certain documents
- Carry the risk of sanctions or contempt charges for lack of cooperation
Subpoenas are usually limited to situations in which the other two discovery tools have proven insufficient. Issuing subpoenas and attending court hearings are costly, and creditors do not like to spend unnecessarily.
Discovery Is the Key to Success
According to Judgment Collectors, discovery is the key to success in the collection game. The more information a creditor or collection agency can gather on debtor assets and income, the more leverage there is to extract payment.