Eyes on the Prize: Procedures and Strategies for Collecting Money Judgments and Shielding Assets

Abstract

This is an excerpt from a new, concise handbook on the civil procedure that few talk about and many do not know exists. It charts the metamorphosis by which the caterpillar of a money judgment is transformed into the butterfly of... money. It is a law student- and new practitioner-oriented guidebook survey of the mechanics and strategies for every step of the process of collecting (or defending against collection) on a money judgment, including domestication and discovery, seizure and turnover, liens and priority battles, exemptions and asset protection, fraudulent conveyance recovery and bankruptcy. It offers a detailed analysis of common, modern asset classes — bank accounts, wages, business investments and securities, and intellectual property — and governing federal and state law in three representative states: New York (traditional), California (innovative), and Illinois (aggressively modernized), with comments on selected highlights in other states (Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and others). An accessible, hands-on resource for reviving the study of post-judgment collections and defense law in the 21st century, the book concludes with hypothetical practice exercises and carefully edited statutory appendices to supplement basic courses in Civil Procedure, Remedies, Bankruptcy, Secured Finance, and other courses.

Keywords: debt collection, judgment enforcement, creditor rights, debtor protections