Q: Must a "dubious" collections "firm" serve me a MOTION TO CLAIM EXEMPT PROPERTY Form to collect on 6-year-old judgement?
I have been receiving calls from a woman, "Elaine Garcia" from a "firm" in California for a week. I answered the first call and said I was "not interested." They began by calling from a "private" number and then began leaving a CA number (626) 2... They also give a "case #" which doesn't refer to anything I am familiar with.
Original creditor tried to collect annually over the years. Each time I filed a "MOTION TO CLAIM EXEMPT PROPERTY (STATUTORY EXEMPTION)" which ended the attempt. I last heard from them via a mailed letter with an offer that I sent back with a note saying that I had no way to pay.
I am 75, living on SS, in a subsidized apt with own only household goods and a car worth c. $500.
Please let me know if based on the above this new "collections firm" can cause me any difficulty. They left a message that I have been "officially notified," and that they are "proceeding."
A: Judgments are valid for ten years and can be renewed for an additional ten years, so anytime during the validity of the judgment, the creditor can attempt collections. Motions to claim exempt property are valid for one year if no writ of execution is issued. So a creditor can serve you with Notice of Rights and then have a writ issued eleven months later. If a writ of execution is issued after the service of Notice of Rights, then a new motion to claim exempt property must be served after each issuance of a writ of execution. Assuming the collections firm has the right to collect on the judgment, they can attempt collection. Not sure what they mean by "officially notified." So, it will depend on when the last Notice of Rights was issued and whether or not a Writ of Execution has been issued at any time after that time.
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