You Have an Order for Money – What Now?

You’ve done the work of preparing the file and arguing in front of a Judge or Adjudicator and have received a Judgment or Order for money that is rightfully owed to you – what do you do now?

In an ideal world, receiving an order for money from a legal venue should guarantee payment but as many people find out the hard way, this often isn’t the case.   Having ways to enforce an Order is often more important than anything else. Any legal representative knows that a judgment isn’t worth the cost of the paper it’s written on if there’s no way to collect that money.

Before commencing an action, especially in Small Claims Court, you should always assess how you will collect that money if you are successful in your action. At DC Paralegals, we first assess the merits of your file and then provide you with the enforcement options available to you.

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON AND EFFECTIVE METHODS OF ENFORCEMENT?

Wage Garnishment – Garnishing someone’s wages can be a very effective way of recovering unpaid Orders. Once you’ve properly issued the Garnishment Order and put into place, you will receive 20% of the debtor’s net wages until the full order has been paid in full.

Bank Account Garnishment – Bank garnishments are often thought of as a one-time opportunity. If you have an Order for $10,000.00 and the debtor has $12,000.00 in their account, the Order will be paid in full in one lump sum payment. That being said, if the debtor only has $15.00 in their account, that is the amount you will get, and it is unlikely that the debtor will deposit any more funds in an account to be garnished. So, even though the garnishment stays active on the account until the debt has been paid in full, you will likely only receive one payment.

Writ of Seizure and Sale of Lands – most people would refer to this as a property lien. A Writ is registered on real property against a name in a certain jurisdiction. This means that if you have a Writ against “John Smith” in the Region of Waterloo, the lien will be registered against any property Mr. Smith owns in that Region.

As with most processes in court, all enforcement of Orders come along with fees. For this reason, it is important to ensure you have all the necessary information prior to pursuing any enforcement options.

If you have an Order from Small Claims Court or an administrative tribunal (i.e. Landlord and Tenant Board, WSIB, or other) and would like help in taking the next steps towards collecting the money that is owed to you, call DC Paralegals today for a consultation at 519-208-9797.