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Judgment Enforcement – The Step-by-Step Course
But that’s a lot of work. A debtor may simply be broke while in jail. And probably
afterward. The kind of person the JD is will tell you a lot about enforcement possibilities.
In most cases, I wouldn’t have taken the judgment, or if I did, I’d simply return it with a
re-assignment back to the JC, and say it’s not enforceable right now. That’s my view.
14. Oh, no! My JD died!
Sometimes the debtor dies. We all will die someday. At this point, decide if you really
want to pursue this case, and if you do, then how do you do it.
The debtor is dead, but his assets may still be alive and well. If there
is a probate, you’ve got a shot. Probate is when the sadly deceased
debtor’s assets pass through the court, so the court can decide who gets
what. Find out what court the probate is in and file a creditor’s claim.
If there is a living trust or some other way to avoid probate, I suggest
you thank God you are alive and consider dropping it. If the debtor’s
assets avoid probate, it will be very difficult to do very much. It may not be worth it. And
remember, although the deceased person’s assets pass to the relatives or heirs, the person’s
debts do not. You can’t go after the heirs.
Again, all you can do is file a creditor’s claim on the probate through the courts, and
you can do this only if it is allowable in your state. At this point I’m not able to give you
additional help on this particular matter, except to suggest that you consider dropping the
case if you can, live as fully as possible, and get on with the next case.
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