§ Practice area 08
Judgment enforcement and collections
A judgment is a piece of paper until it is collected. Andre pursues judgment debtors through garnishment, proceedings supplementary, asset discovery and the domestication of judgments from other states and countries — and defends debtors facing improper collection.
After the judgment
Florida gives a judgment creditor real tools: writs of garnishment against bank accounts and wages, writs of execution against property, depositions and document requests in aid of execution, and proceedings supplementary, which let the court reach assets a debtor has moved to relatives or related companies and bring those third parties into the case. Judgments from other states are domesticated under Florida’s enforcement statute; judgments and arbitral awards from other countries are recognized through a separate procedure the firm handles regularly.
The same knowledge serves judgment debtors. Florida’s exemptions are among the broadest in the country, garnishments must follow strict procedures, and a creditor who overreaches can be made to pay for it.
Matters we handle
- Writs of garnishment and execution
- Proceedings supplementary and impleader of third parties holding the debtor’s assets
- Domestication of judgments from other states
- Recognition and enforcement of foreign-country judgments and arbitral awards
- Fraudulent-transfer claims to recover assets moved out of reach
- Depositions in aid of execution, fact information sheets and asset discovery
- Post-judgment attorney’s-fee and cost motions
- Defense of judgment debtors, claims of exemption and dissolution of improper garnishments
How collection moves
From the judgment to the money.
- 01
Asset investigation
Public records, corporate filings, property searches and sworn disclosures from the debtor.
- 02
Domestication
When the judgment comes from another state or country, the steps that make it enforceable in Florida.
- 03
Garnishment, levy and proceedings supplementary
Writs against accounts and property, and court proceedings to reach transferred assets.
- 04
Settlement or sale
Most debtors negotiate once collection is real; otherwise, the property is sold and the proceeds applied.
Common questions
What judgment creditors ask first.
How long is a Florida judgment enforceable?
A Florida judgment can be enforced for twenty years. Recording a certified copy creates a lien on the debtor’s real property in that county for an initial period that can be renewed. Judgments from elsewhere have their own rules once domesticated.
Can you collect a judgment from another country?
Often, yes. Florida has a procedure for recognizing foreign-country money judgments, and arbitral awards are enforceable under federal law. Once recognized, the judgment is collected with the same tools as a Florida judgment.
The debtor moved assets to a relative. Is there anything to do?
Yes. Proceedings supplementary allow the court to bring the transferee into the case and reach property transferred to defeat the judgment, and Florida’s fraudulent-transfer statute provides a separate claim.
Can wages be garnished?
Within limits. Florida protects the wages of a head of family above a threshold unless that protection has been waived in writing, and federal law caps garnishment of other wages. Bank accounts, receivables and property are often the more productive targets.
Holding a judgment you cannot collect?
Send the judgment and what you know about the debtor. The first review is quick.