Garnishment, property liens, and writs of execution are all tools judgment creditors can use to collect money judgments. But in order to use them properly, creditors need to learn all they can about debtor assets and income. Simply put, creditors cannot leverage assets and income they do not know about.
The same is true even when a judgment creditor turns collection over to a specialized collection agency, like Utah’s Judgment Collectors. Judgment Collectors investigators go to great lengths to find debtor assets before devising the most appropriate collection strategy.
Court-Driven Discovery Tools
Nearly every asset search begins with court-driven discovery tools. These discovery tools might be utilized before a collection agency is brought in. There are basically three of them:
- Interrogatories – Interrogatories are a series of formal, written questions prepared by the creditor or his attorney and delivered to the debtor or his attorney. Each of the questions is directly related to the debtor’s financial position. A debtor is compelled to answer truthfully and under oath.
- Debtor Examinations – A debtor examination is the in-person equivalent of interrogatories. Rather than sending written questions, the creditor and debtor meet in court. The creditor is allowed to ask financial questions of the debtor under oath. The debtor is required to answer truthfully.
- Subpoenas – A creditor can subpoena third parties believed to have valuable information. These third parties tend to be banks, employers, business associates, friends, and relatives. They are expected to provide any relevant information under oath.
Court-driven discovery tools are designed to reveal all the debtor’s income and assets. But they often do not. Even under oath, debtors cannot be counted on to be truthful and thorough. Under the advice of their attorneys, they offer as little information as possible without committing perjury.
Public Records Searches
Once a collection agency is brought in, public records are usually the first source of information to be investigated. A good collection agency will look at local real estate records to find any property the debtor owns. Bear in mind that all real estate transactions are recorded by the county clerk. They are a matter of public record.
Other types of public records open for searching include:
- Property lien records
- Mortgage filings
- Corporate registries
- County licensing records
- Professional licensing records
Virtually any record that ties a debtor to a particular asset is of interest. Rest assured there is no shortage of public records collection agencies can dig into.
Financial and Credit Information
Collection agencies will often run credit checks looking for mortgages, business loans, and other sorts of credit instruments. If there is a reason to dig a bit deeper, the agency might go to court to pursue further court-driven discovery. For example, subpoenaing a bank may come into play if a collection agency believes the debtor owns a mortgaged property he has not disclosed.
Commercial Databases and OSINT Tools
Next up are commercial databases and open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools. Commercial databases are the same databases that credit card companies, banks, retailers, and other organizations frequently buy and sell among themselves. As for OSINT tools, they are essentially publicly available online resources. Social media is perhaps the most prevalent OSINT tool of all.
Tying everything together is good, old-fashioned physical surveillance. Investigators will surveil a debtor to see where he goes, what he does, where he spends his time, who he interacts with, etc. Information gleaned from physical surveillance is often justification for follow-up court-driven discovery.
Judgment collection agencies are very good at finding undisclosed assets. That is why smart judgment creditors bring in a specialized agency on day one.