It's hard to collect judgments in Florida

Collecting money judgments in Florida is very difficult.

Attorney Tom Olsen: I've got a question from somebody, they're saying that they obtained a judgment here in the State of Florida against somebody. They want to know how to collect it. That in and of itself is a very good question.

Attorney Chris Merrill: It is.

Attorney Tom Olsen: What I tell people is that, if you're suing somebody in small claims court, under $15,000, the judge in that court is supposed to help you collect that money. Now, are they going to tell you that? Are they going to just say, "Hey, what can I do for you?"? No, you got to contact the county court judge and the clerks, and really push it. Sometimes people have emailed me and said, "Tom, where does that come from?" I actually have the statute number, where it talks about how they are to help you collect that judgment. That would be one way. Even beyond that, keep in mind that if it's a married couple and you sue just one of the spouses, you cannot touch anything that's owned by both of the spouses.

Attorney Chris Merrill: The other.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Now you're very limited. Keep in mind, that here in the State of Florida, the home that you live in, your homestead, is absolutely protected from creditor claims, doctors, hospitals, credit cards, automobile accidents, and civil judgments. The bottom line is that the laws here in the state of Florida are really written more to protect people who owe money than the people who are trying to collect money.

Attorney Chris Merrill: It makes it very difficult here, but I think your point though, also is every state is different with how they handle this. That's why it's possible that in Colorado, that may be it will be easier for them to collect, and hopefully so in their situation.

Attorney Tom Olsen: I hope so for them because it can be very frustrating for somebody to go to the trouble to sue somebody, get a judgment against them, oh, what is that? A piece of paper that says they owe you money, and then good luck trying to collect on it.

Attorney Chris Merrill: It's a two-part process. Usually, people do not understand that part two, the part they really want, which is getting the money, is going to be very difficult.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Exactly.