Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois

Re: Judgment Collection of Debtor

I assume you obtained a proper judgment, followed the court rules, using the clerk's forms, and sending a copy to the debtor as required and indicated on the forms. The bank will likely respond on one of the forms you sent them. They will mail it to you, or to the court. Hope they send it to you. If they send it to the court, good luck ever finding it.

The debtor may come to court, or send an attorney. They may claim notice was deficient on the citation; service was improper on the original law suit, or raise defenses about exempt property, claim the bank account is not theirs, or jointly held with another person, or file bankruptcy. Those are the most common.

Assuming they do none of the above, whether they are in court or not, you will need to prepare a turnover order. It is best if you prepare that prior to going to court. That order instructs the bank to send the amount of judgment, or the amount they froze, whichever is less, to you. I quick trip to the law library, usually located in the same building as the court, should be instructive on completing the turn over order.

If the bank sent you the form, you need ask no more questions. Just request the court enter the turnover order, and hope the debtor raises none of the other defenses I mentioned.

If they claim it is a joint bank, the joint holder must appear in court, and state what amounts are theirs. If the joint holder doesn't appear, request the full turnover.

The bank is allowed a certain period to process the order, and they are allowed a fee to come out of the bank account.

If they claim notice was improper, "then how did you know to appear today?" That may not win for you, but it helps.

If they attack service of the original suit, they have to prove they didn't get service. The return by the sheriff is prima facie true and correct, and they have to overcome that. You can also request a hearing, and subpeona the officer who served them.

If they claim an exemption, they would have to say what kind. Try to show the court that the exemption doesn't apply.

If they claim bankruptcy, demand to see the stay from the bankruptcy court. If they don't produce it, ask the judge for the turnover.

The debtor may also request time to conduct discovery. Tell the judge discovery will not lead to any information to defeat the judgment or show exemptions. The debtor already has all that information, and does not need discovery. Then request the judge order turnover.

If you feel you need some more advice, feel free to call me. 773.588.6325 Only by a thorough interview with the client, and conducting the proper research can any attorney give a definitive answer. So what I've stated is just highlights.

Good luck.

Re: Judgment Collection of Debtor

The prior answer covers it all! Can't top it!