Judgement Day: (Child Support Collection, Part II)

By Douglas A. Turner, Esq. • May 18th, 2007 • Category: Child Support Collection

In a previous article, I wrote about how to collect a child support debt. After reading the article, I realized I left out a key element in collecting a child support debt, or any debt for that matter. The debt must be reduced to a Judgment.

Child Support: Debt vs. Judgment

A debt is very different from a Judgment. For example, my monthly credit card bill is a debt. I owe the debt, but my credit card company cannot just go to my bank where I keep my checking account and demand payment directly from the bank. Nor can the credit card company garnish my wages or force the sale of my home to pay the debt.

A Judgment is an official court document stating that the money is owed. My credit card company must file a lawsuit and I must lose the lawsuit before the court issues a Judgment. Once the credit card company has that Judgment, now the credit card company can go to my bank and take my money without my permission. The credit card company can use the Judgment to take my wages directly from my employer. The credit card company can use other legal process and take my assets.

How to Reduce a Child Support Debt to Judgment

Unlike a typical debt, the procedure for reducing a child support debt to Judgment is quick and simple. Once the amount owed is calculated, a simple form can be executed and filed with the court clerk. No notice is required to be given to the debtor parent.

Within a week, the Judgment should be issued. This form is called a Verified Entry of Support Judgment. You can find it here.

Once a Judgment is obtained there are two distinct advantages:

  1. First, with just a little effort, the Judgment allows a person to passively pursue the child support debt. A Transcript of the Judgment may be recorded many places including the real property records in the Counties where the debtor owns real estate. The Judgment can also be reported to various credit reporting services. Eventually, the debtor will have to deal with the Judgment if he or she wants to borrow money or sell real estate that they own. In the mean time, the Judgment accrues interest at 12%, compounded monthly.
  2. The second advantage of a Judgment is the ability to act quickly when the debtor’s assets are discovered. In many child support cases, the debtor is hiding assets. It can be very difficult to find those assets. When the assets are found, the debtor quickly moves them. With a Judgment in hand, discovered assets can be swiftly taken from the debtor.

Even if you never think you will recover a child support debt, reducing it to Judgment is probably worth your time and effort. By reducing the debt to a Judgment, many passive opportunities to collect that debt will be available. One thing is for sure. If the debt is not reduced to a Judgment, then collection will be very difficult.

Tagged as: , , ,

Douglas A. Turner, Esq.. This column is not legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship with the reader. Due to limited space, complex legal concepts and rules may be stated in terms of general concepts. Based on 2007 Colorado and Federal law. Consult legal counsel before acting on any information contained in this column.
Contact Us | © Douglas A. Turner, P.C.

You may Leave a comment or Subscribe to Comments RSS or Trackback this entry.

7 Responses »

Comments

  1. Les Benton   on October 5th, 2007 at 12:27 pm:

    How do I determine if a child support arrears on a long emancipated child has been reduced to a written judgement? Can DES assign SS Benefits without a written judgement?

  2. Douglas Turner   on October 20th, 2007 at 3:14 pm:

    Les:

    Sorry for the delay. It is difficult to give this kind of advice without an appointment and knowing more details (like is this a Colorado child support order). That said, in Colorado, I would start by looking in the court file to determine whether the arrears was reduced to judgment. Regarding the second question, I cannot answer that without an appointment.

    Good luck!

    Doug

  3. Renee Harriston   on March 3rd, 2008 at 5:54 pm:

    Mr. Turner I have over $150,000 in child support judgments. I am no longer the custodial parent and SCU requires my ex-spouse to pay only $50.00 a week. What are my options?

    Thanks,

    Renee Harriston

  4. Douglas Turner   on March 19th, 2008 at 8:16 pm:

    Renee:

    I do apologize for the delay. Unfortunately, we cannot give legal advice over the Internet. Please call our office to schedule a consultation.

  5. Lynne Soj-Johnstone   on September 12th, 2008 at 1:18 pm:

    Doug

    Hi, My Ex- owe’s over 22,000.00 in child support, for which when we went to court, the judge put it in a judgement, now How do I try to collect on that judgement.

    Lynne Soj-Johnstone

  6. Douglas Turner   on September 19th, 2008 at 3:39 pm:

    Lynne:

    You will need professional help to collect. Please call our office.

    Thank you,

    Douglas Turner

  7. Eugene   on October 21st, 2008 at 2:10 pm:

    I am looking for some idea and stumble upon your posting :) decide to wish you Thanks. Eugene


Leave a Reply

Note: Please do not submit legal questions using this comment feature. It will be published on the web site AND IS NOT CONFIDENTIAL. Please submit all legal questions through our contact form, and please realize that we cannot give legal advice over the Internet. Most legal questions require an initial consultation.