Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I won a money judgment for my small claims case. The defendant has refused to send me information about his assets. What judicial forms I need to complete to 1) garnish wages of the judgment debtor, and, 2) levy his bank account?

If I skip the step of subpoenaing the judgment debtor to find out his assets which I know he will not comply with, and ask a lawyer or collection agency to collect my judgment, can I ask the court to pay me for collection expenses?

Where do I find lawyers or collections agencies to help me out with the asset recovery process?

Thank you for your response.


Asked on 6/08/13, 5:50 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
John Laurie Gertz and Laurie

You can get your out of pocket costs but you can not get the attorney fees. However you do get 10% on the judgment. It would more than likely be easier to get an attorney to collect the judgment. I would suspect you would have to pay between 25 to 33% plus out of pocket costs. Your local bar association can refer you to someone in your area

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Answered on 6/08/13, 7:07 pm
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

You are entitled to attorney's fees in collecting the judgment if a contract or statute allows it. You would have to have an attorney evaluate that up front.

Collecting a judgment will first require a writ of execution (EJ-130). If you are going the levy route, you need to fill out an EJ-150, and an EJ-152. The sheriff is also going to have forms for instructions.

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Answered on 6/17/13, 5:14 pm


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