If a debtor fails to pay the judgment within the stipulated period of time (usually 30 days), she has failed to comply. In this case, you can choose to collect the judgment through a collection agency (which takes a percentage of any monies recovered) or write a letter to the debtor asking her to satisfy the judgment. Enclose a copy of the final judgment which stipulates how much is owed. This is a nonadversarial method of enforcing compliance with a judgment. If the debtor ignores the request, you have to resort to other means of collecting.
Wage garnishment involves asking the debtor's bank or employer to intercept her income and pay it to you instead. You can file for a Writ of Garnishment with the court that issued the judgment. If granted, the Writ of Garnishment is served on the debtor and presented to her bank or employer to intercept her wages. The amount of wages a creditor may garnish varies from state to state. Wage garnishment is not possible if the debtor has no source of income. Social security benefits cannot be garnished.
Placing a lien on property authorizes the sheriff in your county to seize present or future property belonging to the debtor. You have to locate any properties the debtor may have. After obtaining an Abstract of Judgment and a Writ of Execution from the court, you can issue these to the sheriff to seize and sell the property. Proceeds from the sale of this property go toward satisfying the judgment.
When a debtor fails to comply with the final judgment, the creditor may have to negotiate with her. The debtor may only be able to pay a certain amount of the judgment. In this case, you have the option of taking the amount being offered. The debtor cannot be forced to pay the full amount if she claims she is not in a position to do so.
If collecting a judgment proves difficult because a debtor lacks assets or a job, a creditor simply has to wait. A judgment can be renewed to allow the creditor to keep claiming the judgment. Creditors can also collect interest on judgments. This interest continues to accumulate so long as the debtor does not satisfy the judgment. The rate of interest is usually set by the state at 6 percent to 8 percent annually.
Sometime a creditor decides he cannot collect on the judgment and stops pursuing it. This is usually the last resort when all attempts to gain compliance with the judgment have failed. Although the debtor does not pay, her debt appears in her credit reports. Having an outstanding debt can negatively affect the debtor's credit scores.