It is pretty common for small business owners to file civil lawsuits without fully understanding what they are getting themselves into. For example, winning a case is the easy part. Collecting a monetary award is the hard part. What so many civil lawsuit plaintiffs do not understand is that collecting judgments is a lot like hunting mushrooms.
Anyone who has hunted mushrooms knows that it is not as easy as going into the woods and collecting whatever happens to be available. Mushrooms might be tasty; they might have valuable medicinal purposes. But harvesting the wrong mushrooms could be deadly.
You Have to Know What to Look For
When hunting mushrooms, you need to know what to look for. There are certain kinds of mushrooms that are poisonous to human beings. There are others, while not poisonous, that are still not very good to eat. Not knowing what to look for could mean gathering mushrooms you don’t really want.
Likewise, judgment creditors need to know what to look for in terms of information, assets, etc. Otherwise, they might find themselves chasing down information that is of little to no value.
What are judgment creditors looking for? They need truthful information about a debtor’s current residence and employment. They need to know about the debtor’s assets. And when they are looking for assets in particular, they need to know which assets the law allows them to leverage as opposed to those that are off limits.
You Have to Know Where to Look
A successful mushroom hunt often boils down to where you actually look. Mushrooms don’t grow just anywhere. You need to hunt in areas where they are most likely to grow in abundance. Otherwise, there is a good chance that you will spend the day hunting for mushrooms you will never find.
Judgment creditors face a similar scenario in their collection efforts. First, uncovering assets a debtor is trying to hide requires knowing where to look. According to the collections experts at JudgmentCollectors.com, a Salt Lake City collection agency that specializes exclusively in judgments, property records are a good place to start.
Collection agencies know that property records are public records easily found online. They scour those records looking for any property transactions involving the debtors they are hunting.
You Have to Utilize the Right Tools
Knowing what to look for and where to find it are the two most challenging aspects of both hunting mushrooms and collecting judgments. The icing on the cake is having the right tools at your disposal.
Mushroom hunters need up-to-date guides telling them where to look and exactly what to look for. They also utilize maps, GPS, etc. They carry collection bags, flashlights, and other tools that will make the job easier.
Judgment creditors and collection agencies also have tools for doing what they do. A big one is skip tracing. Skip tracing is actually a collection of tools and resources utilized by collection agencies, bounty hunters, and private detectives to locate people who are actively trying to evade collection efforts.
Leave No Stone Unturned
Finally, a successful mushroom hunt requires leaving no stone unturned. Mushroom hunters need to be willing to look carefully, look thoroughly, and cover every square inch of ground. Likewise, judgment creditors can leave no stone unturned in their search for information about debtors and their assets.
Anyone who thinks collecting a judgment is easy has probably never tried to do it before. Even when judgment debtors cooperate, collection can be a long and stressful process. Perhaps that’s why companies like Judgment Collectors exist. They do the hard work on behalf of their clients.
