Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

There are several ways to enforce a judgment. One way that judgment debtors often find compelling is a debtor exam. You ask the court to issue an order telling the judgment debtor to show up in court on a certain day to answer questions about their assets. On that day, you also show up and ask questions about their sources of income, property, accounts, etc. In conjunction with the debtor exam, you can also serve them with a subpoena duces tecum, which orders them to bring documents with them to court (tax returns, deeds, bank statements, etc.). If they fail to come to the debtor exam, there is a procedure for the court to order their arrest.

Many times judgment debtors will pay voluntarily rather than have to go to court to face questions.

Once you have gathered the info about their assets, you can use the power of the courts to take the amount they owe, say, by a bank levy. To do a bank levy, ask the court to issue a "writ of execution." When you deliver the writ to the sheriff with some instructions as to the bank account, the sheriff will go to the bank and seize the money. The sheriff will then send the money to you.

I provide information about the law designed to help people safely manage their own legal needs. But legal information is not the same as legal advice -- the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. I do not know all the facts of your case, and do not represent you. Although I strive to make sure the information I provide is accurate and useful, I recommend you consult a lawyer who can learn the details of your case more completely, to insure that the information I provide, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation.