Collecting a Judgment
Questions? Contact our Civil Division at (517) 540-7648 or civildept@livgov.com
If you sued someone for money and received a judgment, you have the right to collect the money.
The judgment will direct the defendant to pay you within 21 days of when the judgment was signed, or make arrangements to pay you in installment payments. If the defendant does not voluntarily pay you within that time frame, you may proceed to collect your judgment in several different ways. You may pursue the methods of collection one at a time, or all at once. These methods are described below and are reviewed in more detail on subsequent pages.
Garnishment of wages or any type of regular payments defendant receives, called a Periodic Garnishment; Garnishment of money held by someone in defendant’s name such as a bank account, called a Non-Periodic Garnishment; Garnishment of Michigan State income tax refunds. Seizure of Property belonging to the defendant seized by an officer authorized by the Court. The property is sold, Court approved costs are deducted, and the balance, if any, is forwarded to you.
If you don’t have sufficient information to pursue any of the above methods, you may file a Discovery Subpoena, also called a Creditor’s Exam, which is served on the defendant and scheduled for hearing in court. At this hearing you may question the defendant to obtain the information you need to pursue one of these methods of collection.
Seizure of Property
Filing Fee: $15
This is a post-judgment remedy available to collect a money judgment. An order may be filed 21 days after the date of Judgment. This order is issued by the Court to an authorized Court Officer/Sheriff to seize or take possession of real or personal property to be sold at auction to satisfy the judgment. The Court Officer/Sheriff is entitled to fees by Court rule which will be deducted from the sale proceeds, and the balance, if any will be forwarded to you. A return must be made no less than 20 days of date of order no more than 90 days of order.
Complete form MC19 and file with the Court in person or by mail with your $15.00 check or money order. Once the Judge signs the order, a copy will be mailed to you for your file and will be forwarded to the assigned Court Officer/Sheriff.
Livingston County Sheriff’s Department – Civil Division: (517) 546-2440 Ext: 7936
See michiganlegalhelp.org for further information.
Discovery Subpoena
Filing Fee: $15 + service fee and mileage
You must wait 21 days after your judgment was signed before filing a discovery subpoena. The subpoena allows you to list the information you wish defendant to present at the hearing so you may gather the information necessary to collect your judgment.
Contact the Court for an appearance date before completing the date and location on the form. Complete both the front of the subpoena and the Affidavit of Judgment Debtor on the back. The Judge must sign the subpoena. The defendant must be served at least 14 days prior to the scheduled hearing date.
See michiganlegalhelp.org for further information.
Garnishment
Periodic – MC12
Non-Periodic – MC13
State Income Tax – MC52
Filing Fee: $15 + service and disclosure fees
Garnishment is a court order to assist you in collecting your judgment directly from the defendant’s wages, bank accounts, State income tax refund, and other monetary sources.
Periodic Garnishment – Used to garnish regular payments received by the defendant, such as wages, annuity payments and other forms of regular payments that are not considered protected funds. Examples of protected funds would be Social Security income and disability payments. A Federal formula is applied by the employer to wages to determine how much may be withheld.
Non-Periodic Garnishment – Used to garnish any monies held on behalf of the defendant, such as bank accounts or unclaimed property held by the State of Michigan Department of Treasury.
State Income Tax Garnishment – Used to collect from the State of Michigan Department of Treasury, if the defendant is entitled to a State income tax refund. You will need the defendant’s social security number to file this form.
You must wait 21 days after the date of your judgment before filing any form of garnishment. If you don’t have the necessary information to file a garnishment you may choose to file a Discovery Subpoena and schedule a hearing. At the hearing, you will be able to question the defendant to get the information you need to complete the garnishment.
See michiganlegalhelp.org for further information.