How do I collect my settlement?

Question

I was in small claims court this morning and the other party didn't show up. The judge awarded me a settlement and then called the next case. How am I supposed to collect it? Will something be mailed to me like a receipt to give to the other party? Is the other party notified? What do I do from here?

Answer 1

Telephone the Small Claims Division at the court house and ask the registrar when and how you will receive a copy of the judgment.  Once you receive the judgment, you must collect the amount yourself.  You can do this by paying a collection agency to do it for you; or by putting a lien on his property if the amount is high enough; or by any other legal means.  Yes, as the previous poster said, the court will not do the legwork for you.

Answer 2

Judgment is always the easy part collections is the hard part, the court will not do the leg work for you; as such, you will have to locate assets then use the judgment from court to attach to those assets,

One way to find the person assets, is to issue an information subpoena, which requires the person to file out a form providing all their financial information

Answer 3

You have to wait a short period of time to see if the other party appeals the judgment. If that person fails to appeal on time, you could always do a debtors examination wherein the other party has to show up in court and you can question him about assets, bank accounts etc. this will make it easier for you to "know" where to collect from. Best of luck.