Q: judgment collection a small claim court.
I won a judgment in a small claim court. However, the defendant refuses to pay. What I can do? The defendant has a real estate property, but she put an enhanced life estate deed after she was notified of my intentions to sue her.
Should a file a Notice of Lis pendens with the Clerk of the Court or with the County Official records, or both? Can you explain to me, please? What other options I have?
A:
Read the Florida Small Claims Rules, which are on-line. There are rules and associated forms for demanding the judgment debtor to disclose her assets, including bank account data, so that you can then attempt to garnish her account. Many such debtors will not comply with the disclosure demand, in which case you move the court for an order compelling them to comply, and if they disobey that order, you move to hold the debtor in contempt of court, which can eventually result in incarceration of the debtor if they STILL refuse to comply. Some judgment debtors will choose to fork over the money at some point rather than be subjected to that process. Also, if you hire an attorney for the post-judgment collection process, the court will award attorney's fees on top of the amount owed under the judgment. Of course, an issue there is whether the judgment debtor is collectible. You might want to at least consult an attorney (at a paid consultation) for help on handling the forms and motions you would need to file.
Regarding the deed, if it's a life estate deed that has the debtor as sole owner, with remainder to a beneficiary, that has no effect on ability to go after that asset. However, if the property is the debtor's homestead (permanent residence), the property is exempt anyway; you could not go after it, regardless of the form of deed.
Terrence H Thorgaard agrees with this answer
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