If your debtor has enough money deposited when the account(s) are frozen to cover the amount of the judgment debt, you will not likely have to do any additional enforcement actions.

It is wise to make sure that you have analyzed the costs associated with the levy prior to filing the levy. In some jurisdictions, a bank levy is very inexpensive to file, in other places the expense is higher.

When you contemplate doing a bank levy, you will need to make sure that the statutes in your state or jurisdiction provide for bank levies or bank garnishments. It is quick and easy for you to do a search of the state statutes online. You also will need to find out to whom you must serve the proper execution documents. This information is usually easy to find online. You probably can get a copy of the forms that you need from the Clerk of Court. Many court approved forms can be found online with no trouble. When I first decided to do a bank levy I got most of the information I needed from the Clerk of Court.

You will need to know the identity of the banks, credit unions, or other financial institutions where your debtor has money deposited. If you already know where your debtor banks, the job is extremely easy. Simply follow the instructions and fill out the required form. Then you turn the form into the proper person and wait for the results.

When you do the levy you want to freeze any and all accounts that your debtor has at a particular bank. You will want to word your documentation to specifically say that your garnishment is to cover all accounts in the name and Social Security number of your debtor. If your instructions are plain enough, the bank should freeze all accounts for that Social Security number including checking, savings, lines of credit, safe deposit boxes, etc. You want the bank to get them all. If you know your debtor has an account at a particular bank, you may not know that he has more than one account at that bank. You don’t want to miss any of the accounts in your attempt to get your judgment satisfaction.

Whenever I hope to collect my judgment, I am going to target the bank accounts on a priority basis (assuming of course that it is legal in the state).

If your judgment debtor is a corporation, you can do bank levies also. In fact, it may be easier to identify where a business does their banking than a private individual.

You can be sure that when your judgment debtor finds out that his accounts are frozen, he will understand that you are serious about getting paid. Even if you don’t get enough money from the bank levy to satisfy the entire judgment debt, one result of many bank levies is the added pressure it puts on the debtor to go ahead and pay off the judgment and put the whole mess behind him. Even if he can’t pay the balance immediately, there will be added pressure to at agree to a judgment settlement.

We will have much more to say about bank levies in the future. Without a doubt a bank levy is frequently your number one method to enforce your judgment.

Bank garnishments: It works for me,