Ways of Collecting Debts
Collections mechanisms are ways of collecting on judgments. Once you win at court, you have a judgment. The next step is to collect what is owed to you. Our Calgary based lawyers at Kahane Law Office helps with collections across Alberta. Even if you use a collection agency, many ways exist for collecting debts that lawyers offer the best solutions for.
Ways Of Collecting Debts
Several ways of collecting debts exist as options for people owed money. These collections mechanisms include garnishment and seizure. Both these ways of collecting debts have a cost and effort associated with them. In addition, other debt collection tools exist to assist in recovering funds from a debtor.
Easy Ways Of Collecting Debts
If a judgment debtor owns assets then collecting those debts often provides easier than when they lack assets. At a bare minimum, you can register your judgment with the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (only necessary if your judgment is from the Provincial Court of Alberta), and then obtain a Writ of Enforcement. A Writ of Enforcement can then be filed at the Personal Property Registry. Having done that, you can simply sit back and wait and see if anybody else obtains a judgment against the judgment debtor or undertakes any enforcement proceedings. If the judgment debtor is the subject of Seizure or Garnishment proceedings while your Writ is in force, you will generally be entitled to a portion of the amounts obtained through those proceedings.
Collections When The Debtor Owns Real Estate
Another option is to register your writ against the title to real property owned by the judgment debtor. Real property is a house, condominium, or land. With a writ in place, you can begin proceedings to force the sale of that property. Such proceedings often involve fairly complicate procedures however, and there are limits regarding executing a judgment against the principal residence of a judgment debtor, so you definitely want to consult with a lawyer before undertaking such proceedings.
That said, even if you do not want to take proceedings to force the sale of real property, you can leave the writ in place as a charge against the land, and if the judgment debtor sells the property or attempts to use it as security for borrowing money, they may be forced to pay the judgment debt as part of that process.
Seizing Debtor Assets
With a judgment, one option for a creditor is to seize the assets of the debtor. This process often includes complication, however, if a person has assets that the seizure process applies to, it often aids in collecting the debt owed. This link connects you to our collections page that details the steps required to seize assets when collecting debts.
Garnishing Accounts Or Wages
Assets in a liquid form often provide the easiest to collect. To this end, garnishing as a means of debt collection often proves to be an essential tool. The law allows creditors to garnish the bank accounts of a debtor. This means that the bank pays what is owed from the debtors bank account. Alternatively, garnishing wages, is a situation where an employer pays part of the debtors wages straight to the creditor.
Still More Ways Of Collecting Debts
In addition to the foregoing, there may be other ways of collecting debts that may be applicable to your particular situation, so it is worth talking to a lawyer to see if any of them are right for you.When a debtor refuses to pay, the law provides several mechanisms to collect what is owed to you.
Hiring Lawyers: One Of The Best Ways Of Collecting Debts
Our litigation team offers many strategies to debt collection. In addition, we offer many types of cost structures so you control what the collection process costs you or your business. Call us in Calgary, Alberta today. 403-225-8810 or toll-free at 1-877-225-8817, or email us directly here.