Judgment Debtor Withdrew Cash and Spent Without Any Proof for Spending
My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Florida
I am judgment creditor. The judgment debtor withdrew cash from his bank account and made it almost empty, and claiming that he spent thousands of dollars of cash each month on food, liquor, travel, gambling, etc. He did not produce any receipts for that spending. I suspect he is saving that cash in his home or with friends. What can I do?
Re: Judgment Debtor Withdrew Cash and Spent Without Any Proof for Spending
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daniel6
My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Florida
I am judgment creditor. The judgment debtor withdrew cash from his bank account and made it almost empty, and claiming that he spent thousands of dollars of cash each month on food, liquor, travel, gambling, etc. He did not produce any receipts for that spending. I suspect he is saving that cash in his home or with friends. What can I do?
Nothing really. He is allowed to spend his own money. He also doesn't have to prove it with receipts.
Re: Judgment Debtor Withdrew Cash and Spent Without Any Proof for Spending
You need to be taking steps to enforce your judgment, which could include obtaining a writ of garnishment and serving it on the bank.
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daniel6
He did not produce any receipts for that spending.
Did not produce receipts to whom? A person against whom you have a judgment is not obligated to account to you for his everyday spending (unless you got a heck of an odd court order).
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daniel6
What can I do?
I'm sure you can do lots of things.
Unfortunately, Florida is a very deadbeat friendly state. However, it appears that Florida does allow wage garnishment to enforce civil money judgments. Wage garnishment and bank levies are the most common ways of enforcing civil money judgments. If your debtor has piles of cash lying around in his home, you're beyond unlikely to find out about that.
Re: Judgment Debtor Withdrew Cash and Spent Without Any Proof for Spending
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daniel6
My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Florida
I am judgment creditor. The judgment debtor withdrew cash from his bank account and made it almost empty, and claiming that he spent thousands of dollars of cash each month on food, liquor, travel, gambling, etc. He did not produce any receipts for that spending. I suspect he is saving that cash in his home or with friends. What can I do?
You could try having him summoned to court for a debtor's examination under oath and question him about his "fraudulent transfer" (google it) from his bank account.
How much is your judgment for?
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adjusterjack
You could try having him summoned to court for a debtor's examination under oath and question him about his "fraudulent transfer" (google it) from his bank account.
Except that spending his money on goods and services isn't a fraudulent conveyance/transfer because he's getting back things of value for the money. Those things may be consumed and thus not available to the creditor, but that simply means the creditor has to be more on the ball to grab the money before the judgment debtor runs out and spends it.
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Taxing Matters
Except that spending his money on goods and services isn't a fraudulent conveyance/transfer because he's getting back things of value for the money. Those things may be consumed and thus not available to the creditor, but that simply means the creditor has to be more on the ball to grab the money before the judgment debtor runs out and spends it.
Agree. Nor would taking cash out of a bank account and "saving that cash in his home or with friends" -- which is what the OP suspects -- be a fraudulent transfer, as Jack suggested (perhaps it is Jack who ought to do the googling :rolleyes:). The debtor still owns, possesses and/or controls the asset -- simply in a different form (actual cash rather than a deposit account). Even if the OP's suspicions are true and the OP conducts a debtor exam, the debtor could very easily lie about what he did with the money, and it would be virtually impossible for the OP to prove otherwise.
Re: Judgment Debtor Withdrew Cash and Spent Without Any Proof for Spending
Thanks to all, and I am upset that I can’t do anything legally with that cash he withdrew from bank. Can I or law enforcement people check his home or his children’s home with a court order once he lie under oath about that cash spending? He and his wife jointly owned the home as homestead, and his wife is not part of this case. The judgment is for around 100K and he withdrew 60K cash in approximately 3 month time.
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daniel6
The judgment is for around 100K and he withdrew 60K cash in approximately 3 month time.
Why didn't you levy his bank account(s) as soon as you got the judgment?
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daniel6
I am upset that I can’t do anything legally with that cash he withdrew from bank.
That's not quite what we're telling you. Your problem is twofold. First, you don't actually know what the guy did with the cash. You told us that he said he spent it on stuff. If that's true, then the cash is no longer his, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that you can't do anything with it (because it's no longer his). Second, while you said you suspect he's hiding the cash at home or with friends, it doesn't sound like you have any actual evidence to support your suspicion. If you had evidence that he still has the cash (or that someone is holding it for him), then there are things you could do. However, if he testifies that he spent it and you have no evidence to contradict that, then you're SOL.
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daniel6
Can I or law enforcement people check his home or his children’s home with a court order. . . ?
Not unless you have evidence. We don't raid people's homes based on other people's baseless suspicions.
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daniel6
The judgment is for around 100K and he withdrew 60K cash in approximately 3 month time.
It wouldn't be the first time someone got hit with a judgment and went on a spending spree in order to give the creditor double middle fingers. It's certainly not common in the 5-6 figure range, but neither is it unheard of.