When a small claims court ruling in California is not paid within 30 days, the plaintiff can file a lien on the borrower’s real property. Aside from the amount given, the borrower must pay court fees incurred for the writ of execution, debtor’s evaluation and abstract of judgment, fees from the county recorder related to the abstract of judgment and sheriff fees. After the debtor refinances or sells his house, the lienholder generally gets her cash with interest.
Find the debtor’s property. In certain counties, local assessors provide phone confirmation about if or not a debtor owns land. If you cannot locate the his or her property, document a debtor’s examination in the waiver that awarded the original judgment utilizing form SC-134 (Application and Order to Produce Statement of Assets and to Appear for Examination) and form SC-133 (Judgment Debtor’s Statement of Assets), that are personally served by a representative of this courtroom. The debtor is summoned to a hearing, where he has to disclose to you the house he possesses, property location and his occupation details facing a judge or court commissioner.
Total form EJ-001 (Abstract of Judgment-Civil) and cover the $25 fee (as of September 2010) to submit the form in the waiver that issued the initial judgment. You’ll get an Abstract of Judgment document.
Mail or send the Abstract of Judgment form to the office of the county recorder in the county where the borrower owns the real estate land.
File a form MC-012 (Memorandum of Costs After Judgment, Acknowledgment of Credit, and Declaration of Accrued Interest) with the court that issued the ruling within two decades of incurring collection costs for pursuing debt.
