Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Someone owes me $50k

You can sue now and, since he has a business, get a writ of attachment right now and collect from his till. If your note provides for attorney fees in case of a lawsuit, you will also get your attorney fees reimbursed. I would be glad to talk about this free of charge.

Re: Someone owes me $50k

I've answered the somewhat later versions of this double-posted question without seeing Mr. Stone's answer to this first version. I agree that a writ of attachment may be a suitable adjunct to a suit for breach of contract, but it is not a slam-dunk; courts are somewhat reluctant to grant them, they add to your legal fees, and thw assets attached thereby may turn out to be more or less worthless. Further, it is necessary to post a bond in order to attach assets pre-judgment, and the bond premium can be quite costly or the bond may be unobtainable unless the bonded party (you) has a strong personal balance sheet and will back up the bondsman's risk with those personal assets.

The lesson here is not to lend money without a perfected security interest in substantial collateral - this is also the lesson Wall Street is learning after having created the subprime mortgage crisis be lending money with no reasonable prospect of repayment, just a hope that house prices would rise forever.

Re: Someone owes me $50k

To "ensure you get your money?" No.

You can maximize your chances by submitting that signed agreement into escrow, or having him sign actual escrow instructions to pay you out of the sale. You can sue and try to get a judgment and try to collect someday. Nothing "ensures" you'll get paid. Feel free to contact me if you get serious about legal help in this.