Winning a money judgment in Utah does not necessarily make a judgment creditor an expert in all things enforcement. In fact, a lot of judgment creditors go into collection with very little knowledge of how it all works. We encourage anyone involved in civil litigation to spend some time researching and learning. For example, learning about the supplemental order can help a lot in the early stages.
In the state of Utah, judgment creditors have the legal right to information about creditor income and assets. In a perfect world, a debtor would voluntarily offer the information truthfully and in a timely manner. But take it from us. As experts in Utah judgment collection, we can tell you it rarely happens this way.
Instead, judgment creditors often need to seek supplemental orders. A supplemental order is a court proceeding separate from the original lawsuit during which a creditor can ask questions about debtor income, assets, and property. This is all done in front of the court. The debtor is compelled to answer truthfully under oath.
Why the Information Is Necessary
So, why is the information gathered during a supplemental order necessary? It informs a judgment creditor’s decisions about enforcement. How will the creditor seek to get paid? Will the creditor take advantage of garnishment, personal property liens, and other tools? There is no way for a creditor to know the best options for moving forward without having full and complete information about debtor finances and assets.
A Supplemental Order Must Be Requested
Utah courts do not generally grant supplemental proceedings without being petitioned. Such is the case with the supplemental order. To get a supplemental order, the creditor must file an ex parte motion in the same court in which the original civil litigation was heard.
The motion must include a supporting affidavit and key information: the title and date of the original order, the type of relief sought, and whether or not the creditor is requesting a contempt order against the debtor.
In the case of a supplemental proceeding designed to glean information for collection purposes, the relief sought is an actual hearing for that purpose. Once an ex parte motion has been filed and approved by the court, an order is issued to formalize a future hearing.
The Order and the Hearing
State law requires that debtors be informed of both the order and the hearing. As a result, a judgment creditor must serve the order, motion, and supporting affidavits no later than 28 days before the scheduled hearing. There are rules for serving the debtor, but we will not get into those here.
Assuming all goes as planned, the debtor and creditor show up to court for the scheduled hearing. The creditor is then given the opportunity to ask very specific questions about income, financial assets, property ownership, and other similar things.
In some cases, it is possible to submit questions in writing. Doing so can save time and money by completely eliminating the need for the court hearing. If written questions are answered satisfactorily and returned to the creditor no later than three days before the scheduled hearing, the creditor can then petition the court to cancel the hearing.
It’s Why You Need Help
If you are a judgment creditor and all of this seems confusing, you now know why you need help collecting your Utah judgment. Collecting money judgments is never easy. That is why Judgment Collectors is in this business. We help creditors enforce money judgments the right way. Perhaps we could help you. Give us a call and let us talk about it.