Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois
Judgement Recovery
I recently took my repairman to small claims court and won. Judgement was found in my favor and individual ordered to pay. Shocking, learned that even though
I won case, it is up to me to take the necessary steps inorder to force debtor in pay me. Could I put a lien on his property or Garnish his wages, myself or must I have legal representation. I also have two relatives who have won their small claims court cases and would like me to collect their payments also. Can I legally do this. Must I have a license to do this.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Judgement Recovery
You can do it yourself.
There are two ways to proceed:
1- if you know the debtor's assets (bank account or such) you may then get the court to order a "turn over" which will order the bank to pay you the amount of the judgment, plus interest and court costs.
2- If you do not know the wherabouts of the debtor's assets, then you must file a "citation to discover assets" which is an order bringing the debtor to court in order to answer your questions regarding his assets-bank account number, home address, bonds, anything he has an ownership interest in. Once you have that information, you may then proceed as noted above in (1).
Keep in mind that there are court fees attached to each step you are going to take. You may want to make an assessment to see whether you want to cut your losses or throw good money after bad.
I hope this helps,
Taradji Law Offices
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