Judgment Recovery FAQ's

     Here are some questions and answers about Judgment Recovery. These are the most frequently asked questions that I get about the business.

Q. Are there really that many judgments out there to collect on?

A. There are thousands upon thousands of judgments out there. In just one small claims court there may very well be an entire floor that is filled with shelves of old judgments. There could be 10 thousand judgments in that room alone, and more arriving every day. I've gone through many judgment files, one shelf at a time, and contacted the creditors to take assignment. Judgments may go back as far as 9 or 10 years. Recovering judgments will be around as long as there are debtors.

Q. If I collect on a judgment, what is my percentage?

A. The typical split is 50-50. Sometimes I will go to 40% if I know it is a sure win-such as, if there is real property or other assets just sitting there, or if there creditor has multiple judgments. Most of the time, you will set your percentage for recovering judgments at 50%. 50% may seem like a lot to some people, but when the judgment is collected the creditor receives 50% of something, rather than 100% of nothing. Most are absolutely thrilled to get 50%.

Q. But don't some creditors balk at 50%?

A. Yes, sometimes they do. But I'm busy enough that I don't need to go lower on the judgments that I recover. Soon you'll be busy enough that you won't have to go lower on the judgments that you will be recovering either. So, unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as the creditor has to pay his attorney a percentage of the money, I try to stick to 50% of the total judgment.

Q. I'm not an attorney, so how can I represent the creditor?

A. This is VERY important to understand. You are NOT representing the creditor. The creditor is NOT your "client." Because you own every judgment that you will enforce, you are representing only yourself in every case of collecting a judgment. Therefore, you are now the NEW creditor, and the creditor is now the ORIGINAL creditor. Your contract with the original creditor must spell this out very clearly.

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