Overview
A lawsuit commences when a claimant, called the Plaintiff, files suit against another party, called the Defendant. The parties can be individuals, corporations, partnerships, etc. If the claim is not resolved pre-trial, then the court will hear evidence from both sides and make a finding of fault and damages,called a Judgment. When the Judgment is rendered, the party that wins the award becomes known as the Judgment Creditor and the party that owes the award is called the Judgment Debtor. Depending on the claim and/or counter-claims, it is possible for the Defendant to prevail over the Plaintiff and become the Judgment Creditor.

The judgment itself is nothing more than a piece of paper. It is placed on file at the courthouse and a copy is delivered to both the judgment creditor and judgment debtor. The court then takes no further action on the matter. Enforcement of the judgment is the sole responsibility of the judgment creditor. About 20% of judgments awarded by the court are actually paid by the judgment debtor. The remaining 80% are simply never paid, primarily because the judgment creditor is unfamiliar with the process of enforcing the judgment. He could hire an attorney - but attorneys usually require a retainer fee, and can charge up to $200 per hour for their services. And, while most attorneys are very good at litigation, they generally do very poorly at judgment enforcement. As a matter of fact, you will very likely get a good number of referrals from attorneys.

The judgment creditor could retain a collection agency, but the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, § 805(c)) gives a debtor the right to simply tell the collection agency to ?cease and desist', and they must do so. To avoid payment, the judgment debtor may change his residence. He may even move out of state! If he has assets, he may hide them in an attempt to make himself judgment proof, or immune to the enforcement of a judgment.

This is where you come in. As a judgment enforcement specialist, you have the ability to conduct a skip trace to locate the judgment debtor. You can conduct an asset search to discover his assets. And, you have the knowledge and resources to utilize the legal system to enforce, or execute, the judgment. Before you can exercise these powers, you must first have the judgment creditor sign the judgment over to you, making you the assignee of record. Once the document, known as an Acknowledgment of Assignment of Judgment, has been filed with the court, the proceeds of the judgment will be payable to you rather than the judgment creditor, giving you the authority to pursue collection in your own behalf. Thus, you will not be representing the judgment creditor, but yourself!