By: Kate Critchfield

Director of Operations, Paralegal

Front Range Family Lawyers, a Division of Edmonds & Logue

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, but I work for two attorneys that, in my opinion, kick-butt (and no, they did not pay me to say that). But in all seriousness, I cannot and am not giving any legal advice. Any opinions listed below are my own, and this article is for informational purposes only.

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Let’s address the elephant in the courtroom; the topic of collecting a money judgment. 

I’m not talking about collecting money for big companies.

I am talking about individual, every-day people who are owed money. People like the solo contractor who was only paid the deposit for the 10-day project they completed, or the person whose roommate borrowed $1000.00 two years ago, but they have never seen a dime of that money returned. Almost every small business-person who has provided goods and or services to someone has had a least one person fail to pay the full, agreed upon amount.

These are good people who work hard to provide excellent goods and/or services but are often taken advantage of. 

And this can also happen in a divorce case.

Money Judgments in Divorce

Once your divorce case is resolved and the Decree for Dissolution of Marriage is signed, you may receive a monetary judgment against your ex-spouse. This can happen if the court couldn’t fairly divide the property or as compensation for specific expenses. Often, it’s due to the other party’s non-compliance with court orders or standard procedures, resulting in extra hearings and attorney fees that the court orders them to pay.

But regardless of how you received the judgment, it is an order of the Court declaring that you (the judgment creditor) are rightfully owed a specific amount of money by the other party (the judgment debtor). And now you may be asking yourself…

How do I get the money I am owed from this judgment?

Most attorneys who have gotten you this far in your case say that it’s a wrap, a job well done. They shake your hand and wish you luck but leave you to do your own thing with this new money judgment. Or maybe you were able to obtain a money judgment representing yourself in the divorce case (which good job, that is not an easy thing to do navigating that on your own!) But in both situations, you will need to act on your judgment to get the money you are justly owed.

Resources for Collecting a Money Judgment

So first off, I want to mention a great resource for anyone who wants to try to collect a judgment without involving an attorney, which is certainly an option. The Colorado Court’s website is a great resource that can tell you how you can collect a judgment on your own, located here: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/taxonomy/term/449?resource_type=449. This link will give you information on what types of actions you can take, as well as the documents that you need to file with the Court and instructions on what to do with those documents. 

The Colorado Court’s website is a great starting point, so please check it out if you are interested! But… the garnishment process can become a bit complicated, especially when you come across unexpected obstacles. This is where experienced legal guidance can make a big difference and make the process a whole lot faster.

My mentor Jeff Logue can attest to this. He is an attorney with extensive experience in judgments and garnishments, specializing in collections for the last 12 years. He has successfully executed wage garnishments, bank garnishments and property liens, which has led to recovering millions of dollars for his clients. He knows the ins and outs of the process and can get you a completed garnishment much faster and with less frustration than if you wanted to do this process on your own. 

And if you are using an attorney who has already handled your divorce, you have a distinct advantage, which Jeff talks about this in his video, “How Can I Collect Money After Divorce?”. (Check it out here on YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/xV0MBprMFZY?feature=share):

“The best thing about family law is that we know where they work. We know where their banks are at. We know what their address [is]; if they own a house. We know all these things that we can then put liens on property, we can garnish wages, we can garnish bank accounts. We can go get the money for our client.”

Collecting a Money Judgment

Having worked closely with Jeff for many years, I’ve seen firsthand how his strategic approach simplifies what can otherwise be a daunting process and how he saves his clients money along the way. With that in mind, let’s break down the steps involved in garnishing assets.

**PLEASE NOTE, these are very general steps, please refer to https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/JDF82.pdf for more detailed instructions if you want to attempt garnishing without an attorney**

1. Fill out and prepare the garnishment document called a Writ of Garnishment with Notice of Exemption and Pending Levy (found here: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/Form29.pdf) and all the accompanying documents that go with it.
2. You, as the judgment creditor, must sign the Writ of Garnishment. **Keep in mind that this signature is swearing under penalty of perjury that the amounts owed to you (listed on the garnishment) are true and correct. 
3. File the garnishment, and all documents that go with it, with the Court. *Note, the Court requires a filing fee for garnishments, which is current $45.00 per garnishment*
4. The Clerk of Court will issue the Writ of Garnishment with a Court Seal
5. Make the appropriate copies of the Issued Writ of Garnishment, then collate the packets for service
6. Find a Process Server that can serve the Garnishment for you *Note, this is another cost. Servers generally will ask for $55-$100 for service of a garnishment, depending on what is required to obtain service).
7. Once served, file the Affidavit or “Return” of Service that the process server gives you with Court.

After that, it is a waiting game – you are waiting for the bank to send you an “Answer” to the garnishment, which is their response to the garnishment. If the judgment debtor still banks there and has money in any accounts at the time the garnishment is served, the bank will freeze those funds and wait for an order from the Court letting the bank know to send you the money that was held. That order is called a Release of Funds. However, there is an additional process you must complete that is only required for this specific type of garnishment, and here are those general steps:

1. File the Answer from the Bank with the Court.
2. Prepare a “Levy Packet”, which contains a Notice of Exempt Assets form and a blank Claim of Exemption form (found here: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/Form30.pdf) together with a copy of the Issued Writ of Garnishment. 
3. Have a process server serve the Levy Packet to the Judgment Debtor. *Note, this is another cost*
4. Wait 14 days (as required by law, C.R.C.C.C.P. 403(2)(g)(4), Court Order on Garnishment Answer).
5. As long as the Judgment Debtor does not respond and/or file a Claim of Exemption in that time, you will fill out the Release of Funds form (found here: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/JDF89_0.pdf), file it with the Court, then wait for the Clerk of Court to issue the Release of Funds.
6. Mail a copy of the Issued Release of Funds to the Bank.

Once the bank receives the Issued Release of Funds, they should mail you a check or money order for the amount that the Court is ordering them to in the Release of Funds.

Garnishing someone’s paycheck is like the above process, but you don’t have to go through the second set of steps that you for garnishing a bank. But I want to stress again that these are very general steps and you will need to read through detailed instructions from the Court here https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/JDF82.pdfif you want to successfully garnish without the help of an attorney.

In Conclusion…

Collections is not glamorous, but sometimes it is a necessary part of holding someone accountable to make sure that they pay what is due to you, and a lot of times enables you to pay other bills you may owe to someone else. There is a reason you got a judgment entered in your favor with the Court, and you are justly owed that money. 

So, if you want to proceed with a garnishment or otherwise execute on a judgment, that is absolutely within your rights as the judgment creditor. Whether you choose to proceed with these steps on your own or enlist professional help, the endgame remains the same: ensuring accountability and recovering what is rightfully yours.

I truly wish you the best in your situation, whatever you may be facing, and I hope that these blog articles can give you just a little bit of direction.

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If you want to reach out to us, you can reach us at 970-893-0685. Or if email works better, please email either Jeff Logue at jeffl@frontrangefamilylawyers.comor Morgan Minser, Senior Attorney at morgan@frontrangefamilylawyers.com.

Want to read more of my articles? Check them out here: https://frontrangefamilylawyers.com/blog 

For more videos on Family Law Topics, please check out our website at https://frontrangefamilylawyers.com/video

For more information about our attorneys, please check us at out 

https://frontrangefamilylawyers.com/our-attorneys

#collect money judgment #how to collect money from a judgment