In the last article on money judgment collection, I provided some information on how a judgment creditor could garnish the wages of the judgment debtor. If the judgment creditor has some knowledge about the debtor’s assets, he or she can also potentially levy on a bank account.

For the bank account levy process, some knowledge about the debtor is required. Some counties in California require bank account numbers, but in San Diego County all you need to provide to the sheriff is the bank name and the branch where the account was opened.

The process of obtaining a bank levy is similar to obtaining wage garnishment. The process involves getting the Writ of Execution filed in the Court and then coordinating with the Sheriff to have the levy order served on the correct bank branch. In some counties, you may need a registered process server to serve the bank with a Notice of Levy. Filing fees for the Court and service fees for the Sheriff will be incurred along the way.

Bank account levies are often a gamble. The judgment creditor doesn’t know how much money is in the debtor’s bank account, so it’s a possibility that only a small amount will be collected (for example, the total judgment could be for $50,000, but there is only $3,000 available in the account to be collected), or nothing at all. The judgment debtor may also try to block collection by filing a Claim of Exemption, or someone else completely could make a third party claim to the funds. Bank account levies involve several entities, including the Court, the bank, and the sheriff’s office, so staying informed about whether the funds have been collected, how much has been collected, and where the money is can be difficult since there are so many people involved.

Continuing in our series about money judgment collection, here’s another option for how judgment creditors can collect from debtors. We’ve already discussed wage garnishments, bank levies and even what to do if you don’t have any information on the debtor’s assets. Another common method of collection involves placing a lien on the judgment debtor’s real property.

Before the creditor starts the process of getting a judgment lien placed on the debtor’s real property, the creditor should investigate: 1) what properties the debtor owns, and 2) what existing liens/debts (i.e. mortgages) are already on the property, since they may take precedence.

If the debtor is a property owner, the creditor can get a real property lien placed on the debtor’s property. To obtain the judgment lien, the creditor must prepare an Abstract of Judgment and get the Abstract issued (in other words, approved) by the Court. Once the Court has signed off on the Abstract and you have a copy bearing the official court seal, then the Abstract can be recorded with the appropriate County Recorder. The Abstract should be recorded in the County where the debtor owns real property.

The Court and the County Recorder will collect fees to issue and record the Abstract. Once the Abstract of Judgment is recorded, the debtor must satisfy the lien before they can sell or refinance the property owned in the County where the Abstract was recorded.