Enforcing Judgement

[Nayj1]

I am a licensed child care provider in CA. I was awarded a small claims judgement for money owed by a parent who skipped out on a bill. I tried to attach his wages, but the parent left his job after being notified of the judgement. I have no way of finding out where he works, but I do still have his address. I was told by a small claims facilitator I can go back to court and submit specific forms, which will allow me to garnish the parent's income tax return; similar in fashion to how the state handles child support cases. Is this true? Can I garnish a person's income tax; would it be state or federal? What forms would I use? The small claims advisor has not given me the names of any forms. If this is available to me, could I apply this enforcement this year?

 

[JETX]

Though there are usually much better garnishment prospects (do you have one of their checks with bank information), generally you can garnish tax refunds. However, in order to save you money, you need to determine if they are due a refund first. This can be done in what is called a 'debtor examination'.

If you decide to garnish their tax refund, you need to contact the tax authority (state or federal) and ask what forms are available, if any. If they do not provide a form (garnishment of tax refunds are not common), you will need to contact the original court to see if they have a "Writ of Garnishment" format to use. Otherwise, you may need to contact a Judgment Enforcement expert in your state (to find one, do a search on the net, using "Judgment Enforcement" and your state (or you can post at my site in signature below and I will try to help). Finally, you can check your local library or bookstore for a 'how-to' book on Small Claims and judgments in your state. The book usually has sample forms in the back.