florida judgment enforcement

February 20, 2014September 10, 2018

Why and How do I Record a Florida Judgment?

Reading this article will teach you why you must record a Florida Judgment and the steps for recording the final judgment

This is the second article in a series of articles I have put together on how to enforce and collect on a Florida final judgment. The first article “How Do I Collect on a Florida Judgment” introduced the preliminary steps that must be taken after obtaining a final judgment. The lesson from the first article was that final judgments do not collect themselves. Successful collection of final judgments requires one to act fast and to do several things simultaneously. Recording the final judgment is one thing you should do right away.

Recording the Final Judgment

Why should you record your final judgment? Recording the final judgment is the only way to announce to the world that you have a judgment against the debtor. Recording the final judgment is the only way to obtain a lien against any real property that the judgment debtor owns in the county where the judgment is recorded. Having a final judgment does not act as an automatic lien against the real property of the judgment debtor.

The Court or Clerks will not record your final judgment for you. This is a separate process you must do on your own. At a minimum, record the final judgment in the county where the judgment debtor resides or does business. If the judgment debtor has property in several counties, record your final judgment in each of those counties. You are urged to record your final judgment as soon as possible since the first to record will have priority in collecting over those that record final judgments afterwards.

How to record a final judgment

To act as a lien against real property, the final judgment must contain certain basic information. If that information is missing, the final judgment will not act as a lien upon the real property of the judgment debtor. The final judgment should therefore be properly prepared and contain all required information before signed by the Judge. A Judge will not tell you how to prepare a final judgment. If there is any doubt, please obtain the assistance of a Florida lawyer for help with your case before proceeding.

Assuming you have a properly prepared final judgment, the method for recording is fairly straight forward. You will need to obtain a certified copy of the final judgment from the Clerk of Courts and then record it in the public records and pay the appropriate fee for the same. After recording, the Clerk of Court will return a copy of your recorded final judgment to you with a stamp that indicates the date the final judgment was recorded and the exact book and page number where it can be found in the public records.

The Effect of Recording a Final Judgment

Credit bureaus and title companies routinely check county public records for recorded final judgments to determine if there are any outstanding liens or judgments against persons or companies. A final judgment will serve as a red flag and black mark upon the judgment debtor. This will affect the judgment debtor’s ability to obtain credit or to buy and sell real estate. Catching the judgment debtor during these crucial times will often motivate the debtor to pay you. This is precisely why it is so important to take that first step and to record your final judgment in proper form in the county public records.

Related Topics: Florida judgment enforcement; Miami debt collection lawyer; Florida collection law; Florida final judgments

January 29, 2014September 10, 2018

How do I collect on a Florida Judgment?

Reading this article will teach you what options you have to collect on a Florida Final Judgment

As a Miami debt collection lawyer, I get this question all the time. You went after the bad guys in Court and won. A Florida judgment is now in hand. What do you do with this piece of paper? How do you get paid? This introductory article and the first in a series of articles for how to collect a Florida judgment will give you an overview for the options available to you.

What is a Florida Final Judgment?

A final judgment is a finding from the Court as a matter of law that you are owed compensation from another party for your legal claim. The final judgment will itemize the amount owed and from whom it is owed. Until paid, a final judgment will accrue interest at a rate established by law. A final judgment does not on its own force the liable party to pay you. The final judgment does not instruct you how to collect. The Court, the Judge and the Clerks cannot and will not give you legal advice for Florida judgment enforcement.

Enforcement of Florida Final Judgments

A Florida judgment may be enforced against the personal property or real property of the judgment debtor. Personal property includes monies in bank accounts; wages for employment; and any material possessions that the judgment debtor owns such as automobiles, collectibles, electronics, furniture, household goods, supplies, tools and other vehicles. Real property includes condominiums, homes and vacant land. There are different legal processes to follow depending upon how you intend to enforce the final judgment. No matter how you intend to enforce the final judgment, there are two steps you should take as soon as possible after getting the final judgment.

Record the Final Judgment

Every final judgment should be recorded separately in the county public records. Recording the final judgment in the public records is something that you need to do on your own as it is not done automatically by the Court. Recording the final judgment in the public records protects your lien rights as to any real property that the judgment debtor may own in the county. You are urged to record the final judgment in every county in which the debtor owns real property or resides.

File a Florida Judgment Lien

While recording your final judgment, you will also want to file a Florida Judgment Lien with the Florida Department of State. Filing a Florida Judgment Lien protects your lien interests as to the personal property of the judgment debtor. The first to file is first in priority when collecting upon the assets. For these reasons, a Florida Judgment Lien should be filed as soon as possible.

Florida Garnishment

Garnishment is the process in which monies from the judgment debtor are seized and set aside to pay an unpaid final judgment. Through the Court, you can request a Writ of Garnishment be served on entities or people believed to owe the judgment debtor monies. Typically, a Writ of Garnishment is served on a financial institution to which the judgment debtor has accounts. Additionally you can request a Continuing Writ of Garnishment to be that would be served on entities or people that employ the judgment debtor. While a Writ of Garnishment is a one-time event, a Continuing Writ of Garnishment requires that an employer set aside certain funds from the judgment debtor’s wages so long as he or she remains employed.

Florida Levy

Levy is the process in which the personal assets of the judgment debtor are seized by a Sheriff. When a Sheriff seizes the personal assets they are set aside to be sold at an auction to pay an unpaid final judgment. You do not get to seize and keep the Ferrari. Examples of personal assets sold at an auction include automobiles, collectibles, equipment, and furniture.

Act Fast

The lesson here is if you want to get paid you had better act fast and employ a multi-faceted plan of attack. Getting the final judgment is often the easy part. You made it this far, there is no need quit at this stage. Remember, the early bird gets the worm and the squeaky wheel gets the grease. When in doubt, you are urged to seek the assistance of a qualified Florida lawyer to help you collect your final judgment. Stay tuned for upcoming articles that will be dedicated to each of the stages for the Florida judgment enforcement process.

Related Topics: Florida judgment collection; Florida debt collection lawyer; Recording Florida Judgment; Florida Judgment Liens; Florida Garnishment; Florida Levy

September 14, 2013September 10, 2018

Miami Debt Collection Lawyer

Miami Debt Collection Lawyer Help

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq., a Miami Debt Collection lawyer can assist you in your Florida debt collection matters. Debt collection services are provided for both businesses and individuals. We can help you when you need assistance in both collecting monies or defending against a collection attempt.

Debt Collection Defined

Debt collection is simply the attempt to collect the debt of another. The typical scenario is that a customer owes you money for either goods or services rendered. When your attempts to resolve this claim with your customer fail, you should seek the counsel of a Miami Debt Collection Lawyer to help you. The sooner you get the file into the hands of the lawyer the better your chances are for recovering the debt. Statistically it has been shown that the successful recovery of a debt decreases for each day that passes.

Debt collection matters also involve the receipt and prosecution of Florida worthless checks. The passing of a worthless check in Florida entitles the victim to pursue a claim for three-times the value of the check as damages in addition to the face amount of the check. There are specific procedures that must be followed to pursue a worthless check claim and a client is well advised to obtain a lawyer for assistance with these matters.

The collection of final judgments is perhaps the toughest of all collection matters. With Florida judgment enforcement, clients will often find that obtaining a final judgment in a case is often easier than collecting the amount owed on the judgment. There are specific strategies that should be taken to ensure optimal recovery of amounts owed on judgments. A strong and successful strategy will incorporate several activities including post judgement discovery, aggressive investigation of assets and income, garnishment and levy.

Finally, collection defense is also a vibrant area of collection law. Clients will need counsel and assistance in those instances when they are being pursued for a debt that they do not owe. In Florida collection defense cases, a collection lawyer should be retained as early as possible to challenge collection agencies and their aggressive methods. Debt verification and the strategic planning of a sound defense early on can be invaluable in defending your case.

Miami Debt Collection Lawyer Benefits

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq., a Florida Debt Collection Lawyer can assist you in the collection of monies owed to you. Collection efforts can include the pursuit of worthless checks as well as the amounts owed for final judgments. Russell Law can also assist you in the defense of collection cases when you are being pursued by collection agencies or when lawsuits have been filed against you for monies that you do not owe.

September 14, 2013September 10, 2018

Florida Judgment Enforcement Help

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq. , a Miami Debt Collection lawyer, are available to assist you with the collection of your Florida judgment. A money judgment is a legal right to money damages. The judgment will not however on its own force the debtor to pay you. Chances are that a judgment will do nothing for you unless you take direct action to enforce payment. Many options may be available to you including foreclosure, garnishment and levy. The available options vary depending on the facts of your unique case.

Florida Judgment Enforcement Benefits

To begin this process, Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq., a Miami Debt Collection lawyer can take steps to make sure that your judgment is recorded and that a judgment lien has been filed on your behalf. Both steps are necessary to protect your lien rights. Thereafter, we can assist you with investigating the assets and income of the judgment debtor. This investigation is a two step process. First private investigators are used to locate assets and income of the debtor. At the same time, Russell Law will through the Court submit formal questions and document requests to the debtor to determine the debtor’s property and income. If needed, a deposition can also be scheduled for the debtor to appear in our office to answer questions under oath. These legal proceedings are known as post-judgment discovery. Provided that the debtor agrees to pay, we can draft a payment plan for the debtor to sign that outlines the terms of payment. After payment is received, this office can prepare a satisfaction of judgment for the case.

November 14, 2012

Venue for Fraudulent Transfer Claims

In Bedwell v. Rucks, 37 Fla. L. Weekly D2551a (Fla. 4DCA 2012), the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal had to determine the proper location for lawsuit involving a fraudulent transfer claim. The Plaintiffs in this case originally brought a professional malpractice claim against an accounting firm. Thereafter the Plaintiffs brought a second claim for fraudulent transfers against the individual accountants of that accounting firm after it closed on the basis that the accountants acquired assets from their former employer. The Plaintiffs were seeking to protect their rights for collection in the event they prevailed in their malpractice claim.

Florida Fraudulent Transfers

Pursuant to Florida law, a fraudulent transfer takes place when a debtor transfers an asset to another party to avoid the collection or payment of a debt. Fraudulent transfers commonly occur during a lawsuit or immediately after a final judgment is entered against a debtor. Typically, the debtor will move assets to other companies, friends or family members so there is nothing left for the creditor to collect. The enforcement of Florida judgments is often like the peeling of an onion as one must go through many layers in order to find collectible assets. Often, the collection of a Florida judgment will include the filing of a separate lawsuit for fraudulent transfers that would name those parties that came into possesion of assets, monies or accounts of the debtor.

Florida Venue

Venue for the purposes of a lawsuit is the proper county in which a claim may be filed. A lawsuit must be filed in a county in which there is some connection to the claim. In Florida, venue is proper in a county in which the Defendant resides or where the cause of action for the claim accrued. In this case, the Plaintiffs filed their fraudulent transfer action in the same county in which they filed the professional malpractice claim against the accounting firm. The Plaintiffs argued venue was proper in that same county since that is where the damages from the malpractice claim took place. The individual accountants objected to venue in that county in that they did not reside in that county and they claimed that transfers, if any, would have taken place in a different county. The Fourth District Court of Appeal agreed and held that for the purposes of a claim for fraudulent transfers, proper venue is the county in which the alleged fraudulent transfer took place.