Taking legal action against a person or business to pursue financial damages can be a stressful and lengthy process. There is often considerable paperwork, extensive research, courtroom hearings and legal arguments that must be considered and completed.
However, even if you win your case against another party and are awarded money, your legal issues may not yet be over. In many situations, a court ruling is not enough to force someone to pay what has been ordered, and more aggressive measures are necessary to collect money.
There are essentially two reasons debtors may not pay post-judgment damages: they don’t want to or they cannot. Depending on the reason for nonpayment, there are different actions that can be taken in order to collect money.
If a debtor is financially unable to pay judgments, there may be ways to garnish future wages or seize assets until the obligation is fulfilled. Unfortunately, it can be all but impossible to collect a full judgment in some cases, but it is crucial to explore all the potential options that may be available.
If a debtor is unwilling to pay judgments or claims that he or she does not have the means to do so, intensive investigation work to uncover sources of income, court action or getting law enforcement involved to collect money may be necessary.
Whatever the reason for nonpayment after a judgment is, the process of collecting money can be complicated. However, with the help of attorneys who are familiar with post-judgment collections in Ohio, individuals and businesses can explore and pursue effective methods to collect the money they are legally entitled to receive.
Source: FindLaw.com, “After a Judgment: Collecting Money,” accessed on Jan. 2, 2015
