Courts can order a default judgment against parties who fail to appear for court hearings or fail to answer their complaints. In New Jersey, before a party can collect money pursuant to a default judgment, she must obtain a Certification of Proof from the Special Civil Part Law Division within a Superior Court of New Jersey.
Overview of Default Judgments
Judgment creditors have several ways to collect their debts from New Jersey residents, including executing on personal property, requesting a bank levy and garnishing a debtor's wages by sending him a Notice of Application for Wage Execution. A litigant in New Jersey can request an entry of default by entering a default judgment in court. In a New Jersey Superior Court, the process is known as a Certification of Proof. A party can file a certification to begin collecting on her judgment if she requests the certification within six months from the date a Superior Court entered the default judgment in her favor.
Writs of Execution
To execute a judgment, a judgment creditor must file a Writ of Execution with the clerk of the Special Civil Part. New Jersey Superior Courts require creditors to pay 10 percent of their judgment amounts for the costs of helping them execute their judgments. If the prevailing party is unable to collect his entire judgment, the court will collect 10 percent of the amount collected as commission. The New Jersey Special Civil Part Division is unable to execute judgments on a debtor's real estate. Furthermore, according to the New Jersey homestead exemption, each debtor is able to keep $1,000 of his personal property. If a debtor does not have other personal property, the judgment creditor must use a different method of judgment collections. After locating a debtor's personal property, a court officer can sell the property during a public auction.
Bank Levies
New Jersey law allows creditors to execute bank levies against a debtor's bank account. A creditor can request that a court officer locate a bank account and collect funds from the account. To execute a bank levy, a creditor must have the name of the debtor's bank, the bank's address and the debtor's account number. Under New Jersey law, court officers do not have a legal obligation to find bank accounts on a creditor's behalf. If an officer locates a debtor's account after receiving the necessary account information from a creditor, the creditor must file a Motion to Turn Over Funds directing the bank to turn over the frozen funds from the debtor's bank account.
Wage Executions
Under New Jersey law, a creditor can request an execution of a debtor's wages if the debtor works within the state and earns more than the weekly minimum wage of $217.50 as of 2011. A creditor must file a Notice of Application for Wage Execution and send the debtor a copy of it before the execution. New Jersey law does not allow courts to levy certain types of wages or benefits to satisfy a judgment, including Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits, child support payments and Veterans' Administration benefits.
Considerations
Since state laws can frequently change, do not use this information as a substitute for legal advice. Seek advice through an attorney licensed to practice law in New Jersey.
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