Money Judgments

A Levels Academy Islamabad

Transcript

00:00Whether or not we agree that the love of money is the root of all evil, we can all agree

00:07money is the source and end goal of many things in this world.

00:13And consequently, money is an issue in court time and time again.

00:17Claims and disputes over finances lead to cases that need to be ruled on.

00:22Those rulings often result in what's known as a money judgment.

00:25A money judgment is a court order that awards a plaintiff a sum of money.

00:30There are a great many reasons why money could be awarded.

00:34Anything from credit card debt to medical bills to unpaid rent.

00:38Other reasons why money would be paid out in judgment is because of personal injury

00:42being caused.

00:43In these situations, the court estimates how much the damages are that will be paid out

00:48to the person who was injured.

00:50In addition, breach of contracts often conclude with money judgments.

00:54Rather than force someone to fulfill the terms in an agreement they broke, the court

00:59will often just grant money to the plaintiff.

01:02Money judgments may also include not only a debt itself, but interest, court fees, and

01:07attorney fees that have accumulated.

01:10The winner in a money judgment is called a judgment creditor.

01:14And the loser, the one who then owes the money, is called the judgment debtor.

01:20Once a judgment is made, it has a lifetime of 20 years.

01:24Now winning a judgment is one thing.

01:27Enforcing and collecting on that judgment can be a whole other thing.

01:31There are a few ways to try and collect from a judgment debtor who doesn't automatically comply.

01:36Remember, the court cannot collect for you.

01:39You need to obtain a certified copy of the judgment from the clerk's office.

01:44Then record the certified copy in the county where the judgment debtor resides.

01:48Doing this places a lien against any property they own.

01:52A lien is the creditor's right in the debtor's property.

01:55If the debt isn't paid, the person owed gets the property through something called

01:59a writ of execution, which is a direction from the court to enforce a judgment, authorizing

02:05a sheriff to obtain the property under lien.

02:09Money judgments are complicated matters.

02:11LegalYou is a resource that makes things a lot easier.

02:16LegalYou.

02:17You can do this.