Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

There must be a self-help book out there, somewhere. Bring the judgment, the information you need, and your checkbook to the sheriff, who has samples of appropriate sheriff's instructions. You can levy wages, bank accounts, and/or take a debtor's examination. You might also record the abstract of judgment with the county recorder in the county in which the judgment debtor lives.

Before you take any steps, except for reading the self-help material, contact the debtor and see what can be worked out, including an installment plan, etc. Point out there are numerous steps you can and will take to get the money, which grows with 10% interest all the time it is not paid. Go to the County Assessor and Clerk's office to see if he receives any property tax bills [see if he owns his residence or not, assuming this was not a UD case] or owns any propety. Do not do so before the 30 day period of time for them to appeal a Small Claims Court judgment has passed.

Nolo Press has a great book on how to collect a money judgment. It is available in most county law libraries. If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can also look at The Rutter Group's Collecting Debts and Enforcing Judgments, which is a lot more involved and technical.

Do you know where the judgment debtor banks?

Do you know where the judgment debtor works?

If so, you need to obtain a Writ of Execution from the Court Clerk. It needs to be issued by the Clerk of the Court where you obtained the judgment, but paragraph 1 of the Writ needs to be issued "To the Sheriff or Marshal of the County of: _________." Place the County in which the debtor banks or works. For instance, if your judgment was entered in San Diego, but you find the debtor is employed in Sacramento, you would have the court clerk in San Diego issue the Writ of Execution, but you would place "Sacramento" in paragraph 1 of the writ.

If it is in the small claims court that you obtained your judgment, you can go to the small claims advisor for assistance in completing your writ.

If you do not know where the debtor banks or works, you will need to perform a judgment debtor examination. I would recommend hiring an attorney to help you with the paperwork in any event. Remember that judgments accrue interest at 10% per year until they are paid. You have to complete the right forms to obtain interest. Also, remember that judgments must be renewed before they are ten years old for the judgment to be effective for another ten-year period.

Good luck!