Collect a Florida Judgment

It is a common misconception with the general public that obtaining a Florida Judgment means you will get paid. In fact, the only time you will get paid on a Florida Judgment without subsequent effort is if the Judgment Debtor volunteers to make payments. In most situations you will need to pursue a garnishment, levy or some other post-judgment action(s). This article will answer some of the common questions asked about Florida Judgment Collection by the inexperienced Judgment Holder. It will also provide some additional insight as to which post-judgment steps you should take to be more efficient and effective with your Judgment collection.

Steps

  1. Find out everything you can about your judgment.
    • Is there a statute of limitations on enforcing my judgment? Yes. Florida law currently provides a Judgment Holder with 20 years to collect a Judgment. However, unless you take specific steps to secure Judgment Liens on real and personal property, you will be highly limited to specifics actions you can take to collect your Judgment. For example, Florida Law requires the recording of a certified copy of a Judgment in the public records of the county where the Debtor owns real property to perfect a lien on non-homestead real property.
  2. Obtain a Florida Judgment Lien to secure your Judgment Lien on the Defendant’s Personal Property. Depending on when the judgment was recorded, the initial lien will be for a period of either seven (7) or ten (10) years. Judgments recorded on or after July 1, 1994 have an initial term of ten (10) years. The term of the lien may be extended for another ten (10) years by, prior to the expiration of the initial term, re-recording a certified copy of the final judgment and simultaneously recording an affidavit with the current name and address of the lien holder.
    • If extended in this manner, the priority position of the lien is unaffected. If the original judgment lien lapses without filing of an extension, the lien ceases to exist. The judgment creditor may re-record the final judgment at a later time creating a new judgment lien; however, this new lien will not have the same priority as the previous lapsed lien. In other words, it will only have priority over any subsequent liens, and will only be effective as to property held by the debtor at the time the new lien is created.
  3. Determine if you can obtain a Judgment Lien on the Debtor's real property. There must be real property within the State of Florida against which the lien will attach. The real property must be non-exempt and subject to levy. For example, if the judgment debtor’s property is homestead property or owned by the entirety, then it is not subject to levy and the judgment lien will not attach to the property.
    • You can obtain a judgment lien on the judgment debtor's real property by recording a certified copy of your judgment in the real estate records of the county in which the property is located.
    • If a final judgment issues from a court in Hillsborough County, it will affect a lien on non-exempt real property owned by the judgment debtor in Hillsborough County if a certified copy of the final judgment is recorded in the official records thereof. The Hillsborough County court’s final judgment will also operate as a lien on non-exempt real property owned by the judgment debtor in any other Florida county if a certified copy of the final judgment is recorded in the official records of that county.
    • Once the judgment is properly recorded, the judgment lien takes priority over any liens recorded at a later date and it maintains that priority so long as the lien exists.
    • How Do I Obtain a Judgment Lien On the Debtor's Personal Property? You can obtain a judgment lien on all of the judgment debtor's personal property located anywhere in the state by filing a Judgment Lien Certificate with the Department of State. To file a Judgment Lien Certificate you can visit the website: www.sunbiz.org. Judgment Liens lapse after five (5) years. If there are liens ahead of you, you will move toward the front of the line as they lapse. After five (5) years, you can file again and get another judgment lien, but if others have been filed after your first filing, you will go to the end of the line.
  4. Find out how you could collect the judgement. If the judgment debtor does not pay, there are several avenues you can take to collect your Judgment.
    • First, you may file a garnishment against the debtor’s bank account and/or wages. Florida Statutes protect the head of household from wage garnishment. Therefore, unless the head of household makes more than $750.00 per week and has consented in writing to have his/her wages garnished, said wages are exempt. If the wages are not exempt, a creditor can collect up to 25% of wages per pay period until the judgment is paid. Head of household exemption may apply to all or some of the bank account funds as well. If bank account funds are entirety property, they may be exempt if your Judgment is against only the husband or the wife, not both. There are other exemptions that apply to both wage and bank account garnishments, including but not limited to retirement funds, social security benefits, and unemployment compensation.
    • Additionally, you are entitled to get the sheriff to seize the judgment debtor's property. This is called a levy. Once the sheriff has levied on the property, the sheriff will then sell it, and pay you out of the money the sheriff receives from the sale. There are a number of steps you must take.
  5. Record a Judgment Lien Certificate with the Department of State.
  6. Locate the judgment debtor's property. Land and buildings are called real property. Movable things, like cars and boats are called personal property. A person's homestead is exempt from execution. The judgment debtor may also select personal property worth up to $1,000, and one motor vehicle worth up to $1,000, as exempt property. Only people have exemptions. If your judgment is against a corporation or a partnership, the sheriff can seize all of its property. Of course, the sheriff can only levy on property the judgment debtor truly owns - not property owned by somebody else, such as leased property.
  7. Request the Clerk of the Court that issued the judgment to issue a Writ of Execution, then deliver the writ to the sheriff's office in the county in which the property is located. You must also give the sheriff written instructions, called Instructions for Levy. These instructions describe the property, and tell the sheriff where it is located.
  8. Before the property can be sold, notice of the sale must be provided to any creditors with priority judgment liens.
  9. Once the notices have been sent, the sale must be properly advertised in a local newspaper. Then, at the designated time and place, the sheriff will sell the property at a public auction. You can bid at the auction if you want to. The highest bidder for cash in hand pays the price to the sheriff and becomes the owner of the property.
  10. The sheriff will pay out the money received from the sale in this order:
    • First, the sheriff pays the sheriff's costs, and if the sale price covers these costs, you will get your deposit back.
    • Second, the sheriff pays you $500 for your costs (whether you spent that much or not).
    • Third, the sheriff pays priority creditors before paying you.
  11. If the sheriff runs out of money before getting to you, you get nothing more. This is why it is such a good idea to obtain a Judgment Lien as soon as possible. If no judgment liens have ever been filed, the sheriff will pay you first, and anything left over will go back to the judgment debtor.

Warnings

  • These are basic collection procedures. The process of collecting a Judgment may be complicated. The author of this article is not an attorney, and this article should not be construed as legal advice. You may need to contact a Judgment professional for assistance. Alternatively, you may want to consider selling your Judgment to a Judgment Buyer.

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Sources and Citations

  • Marley, Hunter & Winston, LLC, Judgment Recovery Specialists www.mhwrecovery.com

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