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Judgment Enforcement – The Step-by-Step Course

several months, and then bring suit against the employer (probably in

small claims.) The downside, of course, is that it requires more effort
on my part, because I have to file a new uit against the employer. But
because I want to enforce the judgment, I will do whatever it takes.

13. Oh no! My debtor is in jail

How do I break this to you: Your JD is probably not a good person.
Currently I’ve got a debtor who is a businessman hiding lots of assets,
and who is in and out of jail for various domestic-relations reasons.
That doesn’t change the fact that in this case the judgment is doable.
But in other cases, when the debtor is in jail, it may not be doable, at
least not right now.

Okay, so what do I do?

If your debtor is in jail because of something he did regarding the judgment (drunk
driving accident, theft, etc.) then the original creditor probably has a restitution order for
the debtor to pay him or her compensation money when they get out. And the local DA has
probably promised to do absolutely everything he can to make your debtor pay.

A word to the wise: Don’t count on much help from the DA.
I receive calls now and then from people complaining about the DA promising them a

lot but helping very little. But let’s be fair. The DA staff is overworked. There are a lot of
bad guys out there. Yours is just one restitution order they have to deal with.
Your job now is to wait until the debtor is out of jail, and then keep track of the debtor,
wait until he has some assets, and then take them. That’s all you can do at this point. But
look closely at the work history of the debtor. Does he have a skill? Is he an entrepreneur?
If the guy is simply a deadbeat or doper, then you probably shouldn’t have taken the
judgment in the first place. Return it. You’ve got other things on your plate which are

doable.

When the debtor is in jail because of something other than your judgment

I know a Judgment Enforcer who goes after the debtors even in jail. He once levied on a
prisoner’s bank account over and over. The debtor was a remarkably unlikable and
squirrelly guy who needed a lot of money to keep the bullies in jail off his back, so to
speak.

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