Post Judgment Negotiation Lawyers In Calgary, Alberta

post judgment negotiations; debt negotiating; alberta law; alberta debt collections

Negotiating Judgment Debt Payment

Post judgment negotiations often lead to a defendant paying the successful plaintiff after the court’s judgment. The reason is that not all defendants pay right away. Once you have a judgment from any level of Alberta court you need to collect the amount of the award. Many judgment debtors, specifically unsecured lending, do not have the funds to make payment on a court judgment. Therefore payment may not be immediately forthcoming. The Alberta lawyers at Kahane law office can help with these matters.

The Limits On Court Judgments

Receiving a successful ruling from the court is only step one. People mistakenly believe that the court then ensures the defendant pays. This is not the case in Alberta. One option, one you win in court, is to use the collections options the law allows for to collect on your positive court ruling. Alternatively, to avoid these steps, some people negotiate with the debtor.

Two Types Of Debt Payment Negotiations

Our litigation team assists in all forms of post judgment negotiation. As a general rule,post judgment negotiations generally involve one of two areas of negotiation. For example, we often perform the following services:

Time to Pay Negotiations

Judgment debtors may be willing to pay the judgment as allotted by the court. Many times, they may not have the assets to pay the judgment right away. In that case, they may need time. Our firm can negotiate with them to set up a payment plan. A payment plan is preferable to other available collections such as garnishment or seizure as it is less expensive, and often more timely.

Negotiated Reduced Payment

Many clients ask about the logic of negotiating a smaller payment amount when they have a judgment for a full amount. Primarily, this is done to ensure prompt payment and it will reduce the expense of collections. There are also limitations on seizure, garnishment and other enforcement mechanisms that protect some assets of the judgment debtor. Finally, there is the issue of bankruptcy. In many cases, a judgment debtor’s obligation to pay a judgment is wiped out through a bankruptcy. If a judgment debtor enters bankruptcy, it is likely that the actual amount collected will be greatly reduced.

Limitations On Post Judgment Negotiations

A limitation period or limitations relates to the laws limiting the time a person has to make a claim or enforce a judgment. Post judgment negotiations have specific time frame limitations. It is important to note that a judgment is only good for 10 years. If the judgment debtor has not paid the full amount, or the negotiated amount, of the judgment by that time, the judgment will have to be renewed prior to its expiry. Experience indicates that many judgment debtors will improve their financial position or have some form of income over the ten years, increasing the likely hood of collecting the full amount owed.