What happens if a defendant does not pay a judgment California?
The plaintiff has several options to try to recover the money if the defendant does not voluntarily pay the amount owed under the judgment:
The laws also facilitate Wage Garnishment and Bank levies.
The plaintiff can file a request to the court for an earnings withholding order which obliges the defendant's employer to withhold some of the defendant's wages, colliding the money as a way of paying the judgment. Plaintiffs can put bank levies in their suits whereby third-party financial institutions are commanded to seize money from defendant's bank accounts and its pay gets applied to the debt.
Property Liens
The plaintiff can have directly personal liens on the real land the defendant has. Thus the proprietor of the property cannot either sell it or be allowed to be refinanced until the judgment is paid off. A calculated interest (including the original debt) will continue to accumulate the longer the defendant delays to pay the sum judgment.
Seizing Assets
At times, the sheriff or marshal who live near-by can be appointed to seize non-exempt property of the defendant which may be automobiles, equipment or some other valuable personal property belonging to the defendant. As the assets are sold for auction and the money from the sale is going towards the unpaid judgment, the judgment holder will be able to gain a financial advantage.
Renewing Judgments
The validity of judgments held in either California or its federal court system is 10 years according to California law. Otherwise, the plaintiff might file a renewing the judgement within 10 years which lasts for another ten years. This by no means closes the book on the judgment and hence the servicing proceeds with interest continuing to get accumulated, creating an opportunity for continuance of collection.
Aside the fact that unpaid judgments would be visible on defendant's credit report as debt and might be treated as judgment and can be very harmful to credit score as credit score might be tarnished for many years. This can be an extra stimulus to pay or even just try to settle beforehand along with the above-mentioned actions. No payments according to the court orders are treated as the World’s ending in California in terms of jobs, bank account, property are lost and credit ruined. Talking to an attorney is undoubtedly the best option for defendants who have been sentenced to make payments that they cannot afford. The attorney will assist in determining if the defendants are eligible to receive some assistance, depending on their income levels.