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Collecting Money from a Judgment
If you sued someone for money and received a judgment against that
person, you are called the "judgment creditor" and the person
against whom you received the judgment is called a "judgment debtor."
As a judgment creditor, you have the right to begin to collect the money
before the judgment expires based on the statute of limitations in MCL
600.5809. The statute of limitations is tolled (stopped) during
the time that the judgment is being paid in installments. See MCL
600.6107 and MCL
600.6235. If the judgment expires, your legal options for collecting
money are no longer available. In order to continue collecting on a
judgment after the expiration date, the judgment must be renewed. A
motion to renew a judgment must be filed before the original judgment
expires. A renewal of a judgment extends the judgment for the same period
of time as the original judgment. See MCL
600.2903 and MCL
600.5809.
How Much You Can Collect
You can collect the amount stated in your judgment plus any interest
that accumulates during the time the judgment debtor pays off the judgment.
See information
on interest rates >>. For help in calculating interest rates,
you may want to contact a certified public accountant or a bank.
How to Collect Your Money
There are several ways you can collect your money.
- If the judgment debtor has the money and is present at the trial,
s/he can pay you right then. If that happens, file a satisfaction
of judgment with the clerk. You can use form MC17,
Certificate of Satisfied Judgment.
- If s/he does not have the money at that time and you both agree
at the trial, the judge can set up a payment schedule. If the judgment
debtor was not present at the trial, the court will send a copy
of the judgment to the debtor in a small claims case. For all other
cases, you will have to send the judgment to the judgment debtor.
The judgment will order the judgment debtor to pay you in full within
21 days or tell you and the court where s/he works and the location
of his/her bank accounts. You can send a blank copy of form DC
87, Affidavit of Judgment Debtor, when you send the judgment.
- If the judgment debtor doesn't pay the judgment as ordered, you
will have to collect your money through a seizure of property or
a garnishment.
- If your case against the defendant involved a traffic accident,
you can ask the court for an abstract of judgment, which suspends
the judgment debtor's Michigan driver license until s/he pays the
judgment. You must wait 30 days after the judgment date before you
can get an abstract of judgment. You need to provide the judgment
debtor's full name, date of birth, and Michigan driver license number.
There is no filing fee. The court clerk should have the necessary
forms.
Seizure of Property
Seizure of property is a court procedure allowing a court officer to
seize property belonging to the judgment debtor, which can be sold to
pay for your judgment.
Garnishment
Garnishment is a court procedure allowing you to collect your judgment
directly from the judgment debtor’s wages, bank account, income
tax refunds, or other sources. In a garnishment proceeding the judgment
debtor is the called the defendant and the judgment creditor is called
the plaintiff.
For garnishing income tax, contact the Michigan Department of Treasury
at (517) 636-5333. They also have a website with frequently
asked questions and answers regarding garnishment >>.
How to Get an Order to Seize Property or an Order for Garnishment
To get an order to seize property or an order for garnishment, you will
first need to know where the judgment debtor lives and works, what assets
s/he has and where these assets are located, and any other information
that identifies the judgment debtor and his/her property.
- If you have the information described above, you can start the
process for an order to seize property or an order for garnishment.
- If you don't have the information described above, you will need
to order the judgment debtor to appear in court for questioning
through a process called discovery. You can start this process by
filing a discovery subpoena.
See details for garnishment
>>
See details seizing property
>>
See details for filing a discovery subpoena
>>
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