Judgment Recovery DITY move, perhaps?

[brucefon]

What is the name of your state?
Massachusetts

How does someone get the goods on an individual that owes them money? Courts only 'award' a judgment, they don't help you get your money.

I looked into this and find that companies, home-based businesses perhaps,
called judgment recovery services, advertise everywhere.

They only give you 50-60% of the original judgment back after 'buying'
your judgment from you, collecting the real or personal property and assets,
if any, from your debtor.

How? How do they do it? Why can't *I* do it? Or you? What's the secret
for any individual to do the legwork on their own, seize assets and property
on their own? Why recover 50-60% when you can get 100%?

What is required for me or anyone else to track down bank accounts,
initiate liens, etc?

Does anyone have a real answer?

 

[seniorjudge]

Does anyone have a real answer?

Yes. You will have to become very familiar with how to recover judgments. Read the statutes in your commonwealth.

There are ways to haul a debtor into court to answer questions about assets while the debtor is under oath. (Debtors, my children, and other people have been known to lie after I put them under oath...fair warning.)

This is such a complicated area of the law that lawyers and companies do specialize in it. It takes a lot of time and effort.

Go to the sheriff (or the county official who executes on judgments) and ask around and see if you can find the deputy who handles this stuff regularly. That deputy could be a veritable fount of info.