Why Orange County Bank Levies Fail
Get Your Orange County Bank Levy Served Right
Get Your Orange County Bank Levy Served Right
What can you do if you know where a judgment debtor banks, pay a Sheriff to levy their checking account, and you receive a notice from the bank that says “no funds” or “account closed”?
Orange County bank levies can be expensive, with the combined cost of locating the bank account and paying the court, the Sheriff and a process server.
Getting a “no funds” or “account closed” letter can be discouraging.
Typically, there are six reasons for this outcome, in order of probability:
- The judgment debtor is poor and/or closed their account
- The Sheriff, you or another person made a mistake or a typographical error that caused the levy to fail
- Either you or your source information was wrong and the judgment debtor never had a checking account at that bank or branch
- The debtor makes use of an AKA, or is only a signer on the account and has no ownership of the money
- The bank made a mistake
- The bank is lying or protecting the judgment debtor
The most typical reasons are the judgment debtor either never had an account, closed their account, is only a signer on the account, or uses an AKA name. When your judgment debtor is poor, bank levy outcomes will rarely cover the cash you invested.
At judgment debtor examinations, when you ask judgment debtors where they bank, they may lie about amounts and locations of accounts. Even when you know for sure where a judgment debtor banks, some judgment debtors alter savings accounts to avoid having their funds seized. There are state laws that protect private banking information, including those of judgment debtor’s.
So, there are really only a few techniques to help you complete your Orange County bank levy successfully. Many banks have records that are not current, especially with poor or creative judgment debtors. If the judgment debtor makes use of an AKA, you should obtain an affidavit of identification approved by the court, with evidence that connects the judgment debtor with the names they actively make use of.
When the judgement debtor owns a DBA business, to get an affidavit of identity authorized by the court, you will require a notarized copy of their fictitious name statement.
Occasionally, “no funds” implies the judgment debtor is just a signer on the savings account, indicating the judgment debtor is just connected to the account and has no ownership of the money that could potentially be levied. Some individuals open savings account for their children under The Uniform Transfers to Minors Act to keep funds out of the hands of creditors, due to the fact that they do not own the account.
If you are confident you know the right bank for the judgment debtor and how much cash was in the account at the time of the levy, you may subpoena and serve a judgment debtor for an examination at the court. A subpoenaed request for the production of papers is known in court as a Subpoena Duces Tecum. When served on banks, these forms should be worded to include any and all accounts connected with the judgment debtor. You can subpoena a request for the production of papers, from both the judgment debtor and their bank as a third-party. You should hire a Sheriff or registered process server to serve your documents securely and establish an official paper trail.
One objective can be to get both the bank and the judgment debtor in court at the same time to answer questions and produce papers to make it difficult for either party to lie. Ask for a year’s worth of records and luck may turn up evidence of an account that “did not exist”.
In California, if the debtor is an individual, you’ll need to first serve them a “notice to levy”. If the judgment debtor does not arrive in court, you could keep trying to recover the judgment on your own. If the bank does not show up, California law enables you to sue them in court.
If you can show the bank had funds in the name of the judgment debtor at the time your levy was served, you could begin by composing a letter to the bank, politely demanding the balance in the account on the levy date, up to the amount needed to satisfy the judgment. Include evidence the checking account existed, the Sheriff’s documents, and the bank’s memorandum of garnishee, that shows their previous declaration of “no accounts”.
Some banks pay after getting a request letter, while other banks will wait until they are sued. Many times, the bank or lending institution will settle a claim before ever going to trial.
If you need your Orange County bank levy served, give JPL Process Service a call at (866) 754-0520. We can get it done in days, not weeks or months, and have proof of service to you quick so you can get back to life.
California Assembly Bill 2364 Changes Bank Levy Laws
New California Bank Levy Law
With each New Year comes a bumper crop of new laws on the books, numerous of which you’ll never hear about. Our job as licensed Orange County process servers is to keep our customers abreast of any new laws which could influence them, their cases or their sensitive legal papers. The major law concerning our clients this year is California Assembly Bill 2364.
The law, which took effect January 1, 2013, regulates the service of particular legal procedures against deposit accounts, safe deposit boxes and individual homes held by big California monetary establishments. What does this mean for you?
It generally suggests if you require a bank levy, writ of execution, or some various other judgment collection served, it will have to be served to a centralized location marked by Bank of America with the California Department of Financial Institutions. Refraining from doing so will render your service invalid. If you do not live near the centralized Bank of America facility, the only way you can have your notice of levy served is through a certified process server or the regional Sheriff, but the sheriff’s office has major delays and is backed up for in some cases 3 months or even more.
If you attempt to deliver the records to the particular establishment that handles the account in question, your package will be neglected, and possibly even worse, expired. Now that Bank of America has designated its centralized location for the service of civil levies, savings account garnishments, attachments and various other legal procedure, you need to follow the proper protocol to guarantee your judgment collection moves forward and you start obtaining repayments.
For added details relating to the brand new California bank levy laws or if you require a bank levy executed in California, please give JPL Process Service a call at (866) 754-0520. We can provide you with the hours of operation for Bank of America’s centralized facility, give a price and delivery time quote and even answer your concerns to get you headed in the right direction.
Do not let your judgment collection lapse or get sent back to court, costing you extra time, money and energy. L.A. Sheriffs are a minimum of 2 months behind in delivering notices of levy and are hardly friendly about doing this. Our Orange County process servers are fast, friendly and make numerous trips to the centralized Bank of America facility every day.
Give us a call today and we’ll deliver yours, as well!
How To Execute and Collect On An Earnings Withholding Order
Wage Garnishment And Earnings Withholding Order Services
In many instances, specifically those involving child support, you may be owed money and need a way to collect. If the defendant is behind in payments or not making them completely, your best bet is to declare an earnings withholding order.
If the debtor has not paid the judgment debt when it is due, or made plans to pay it over time, California legislation gives the judgment financial institution the right to collect the money from the debtor’s income. This is called wage garnishment.
The federal government restricts the amount you may garnish from a debtor’s income to either 25% or 30 times the minimum wage for the work week, whichever is less. The general process for collecting a judgment from a debtor’s income is similar throughout California, yet there might be some differences from one county to another.
As an example, in numerous counties, the Sheriff is the most commonly-used levying official, while in others, a registered process server performs that task. Contact the Small Claims Advisor to find out which one you’ll need.
To begin collecting from the debtor’s earnings, you will need to take the following actions:.
Step 1. Acquire a Writ of Execution issued by the court clerk. Observe the California rules for giving out a writ, then fill out, file and pay the fees for filing both of these documents:
- Application for Earnings Withholding Order
- Earnings Withholding Order Form
The court clerk will stamp and copy each, then give the originals back to you.
Step 2. Make a minimum of 3 copies of each form and keep one set for your personal file.
Step 3. Find a Registered Process Server and supply them with:
- 2 sets of the kinds that have the court stamp on them, as well as.
- a check to cover the fee for garnishing the debtor’s incomes that the levying company in your county will certainly charge. (You will definitely need to talk to the proper levying company to discover the quantity of money it needs.).
If you can’t afford the fees, you could ask the court for a fee waiver. In this circumstance, instead of hiring a Registered Process Server, go to the office of the levying agency with all of your paperwork and your fee waiver.
The Registered Process Server will then open a file with the Sheriff’s Office or the appropriate levying official, which will include both the Writ of Execution and the Earnings Withholding Order. Contact the levying official ahead of time to find out exactly what other paperwork is required.
As soon as the process server files the documents with the levying official, they’ll serve the Earnings Withholding Order on the debtor’s employer. The process server then has 5 days to file the original Writ of Execution and Proof of Service with the levying workplace.
The levying office will secure the funds from the employer, and send the money to you. The garnishment remains in effect until you are completely paid or the debtor changes employers. In the event the employer doesn’t comply with the order, the employer is breaching the court order and you should ask the court to hold them in contempt.
As soon as the debt has actually been completely paid, you need to get stop the Wage Garnishment and finish the Writ of Execution. To do so, send a letter to the Sheriff asking them to stop the garnishment. Your letter should include:
- Case number
- Sheriff’s file number
- Name of the judgment debtor
- Name of the debtor’s employer
- Date when the garnishment is expected to end
If you’re ready to have an earnings withholding order served, call JPL Process Service at (866) 754-0520 and we’ll take care of it for you, often in as little as 24 hours.
What Is A Process Server?
What’s A Process Server And What Do They Do?
A registered process server is an individual that is certified and trained to provide (serve) legal documents to people and companies, known as defendants or parties.
When a criminal or civil case goes to court, the lawyers will alert the parties included through legal documents. The process server, upon getting the papers from the attorney, then serve the papers to the defendant. When referring to registered process servers, these are usually servers that are registered to serve within a specific county or location of their state, having actually been trained to do so.
Becoming a process server is a straightforward process. Most states require servers to be trained and accredited by either a lawyer or an authorized veteran server. Each state has a process server association or state board that regulates the laws for process for that state and have a listing of accepted training and courses. State laws will determine the degree of criminal background one needs to pass in order to serve papers.
The primary duty of a process server is to deliver notifications of a pending case to the appropriate party or parties. Process servers are also hired to do other tasks associated with service, like surveillance or performing background checks. It’s up to the individual server whether or not to provide these services.
Though cases differ, the attorneys representing each side will provide the individual’s identity and address where they believe they can be located for delivery. After the case has been filed in court, the lawyers will provide a court copy of the case with the parties to be notified to the server. The server will then attempt to deliver the paperwork to the individual they are directed to. The sort of case determines the mode and length of delivery.
Citations and petitions tend to be regulated and are permitted up to a couple of months to locate and serve the papers. Subpoenas to testify and produce information generally have a smaller window for completion. Temporary restraining orders and writs of garnishment and execution generally require service within three business days due to the immediate nature of these kinds of cases.
If you’re interested in becoming a registered Orange County process server, learn the regulations and requirements for California and study the laws of civil procedure. Serving legal documents is not the most glamorous job, but it is constantly in demand and filings of new civil cases grow in number every year.
Things To Consider About Orange County Bank Levies
Need An Orange County Bank Levy Served?
Lots of people ask us to perform a bank levy to collect money owed on their court judgment. After all, bank levies are an effective means to obtain the court judgment paid at one time. It doesn’t matter if your judgment is from Small Claims Court or regular Civil Court, JPL Process Service can help.
But first, here are some things you need to consider:
#1 Do You Know Where the Debtor Banks?
In some cases, you might have an old check from the debtor, or perhaps they were a former buddy or business partner, and you already know where they bank. They may have closed the account to avoid you, but you cannot be sure until you check. There are a number of legal methods to discover an individual’s checking account. Do a search on Google or speak to your legal representative for support.
Tip: Most people bank at one of the significant banks in an area. If all else fails, put a levy on all of the banks at the same time. In many states other than California, it doesn’t matter which branch you levy upon. Any sort of levy on any branch is good for all accounts held by that bank at any place in the state. Here in California, you’ll need to do a bit more research.
#2 How Much Is It Going To Cost?
The price of levying a bank is minimal in most states. You need a Writ of Execution (sometimes called a Writ of Garnishment). The cost is anywhere from $25.00 in California to over a hundred dollars in Florida. Then you can request the sheriff serve the bank for you. The writ of execution is the instrument the sheriff uses to place the levy on the bank for you. The writ informs the sheriff how much your money judgment was for, what costs you’ve had so far applying for the judgment, and the amount of interest due on the judgment. This “writ” is stamped and signed by the court, and mailed back to you.
Many states have a website where you can get their writ online in a PDF file. Or you can purchase one for a small cost at sites like Legal Zoom. When you have the writ, just type in the details and the amounts. You’ll have to compute interest too, based upon your states annual interest rate.
Usually, when you complete the Writ of Execution, you’ll also have to fill out an accompanying form called a “Memorandum of Costs’. This “memo of prices” is where you validate the interest, as well as the reason for the additional court expenses you may have incurred, such as a judgment debtor assessment or process service.
This may seem complicated, but if you take action, it’s really quite easy. Complete the forms. Call your court to get the specific expense for sending the writ. The court might have a free legal adviser who can help you fill out the writ. Fill it out and either mail it in or take it to the court with a check to cover the charge.
Then call the sheriff to see exactly what the expense is for serving the bank or banks. In some counties, sheriffs are too busy to perform bank levies, so you’ll need to make use of a registered process server. They cost a bit more, but they’re worth it due to the fact that you can levy the bank on the exact day you wish.
#3 When Should I Levy The bank?
In a great deal of cases, you won’t know precisely when your debtor will have the most cash in the account. But in some cases you may know, specifically if you are aware that the debtor gets a direct deposit at certain times. If you know there is a direct deposit, it’s probably best to levy around the 2nd or the 16th of the month. Also, if your debtor is a tenant, then factor in when you think the property owner will cash the debtor’s rest payment. You want to levy prior to the check going through.
If the debtor has a residence and pays a mortgage, the home loan will most likely be due by the 15th of the month. Sometimes it’s best to levy around the 5th of the month. That’s probably when the most money is in the account. Even if the debtor banks at the same bank that holds his home mortgage, the bank still needs to honor your levy by law.
#4 Levy the Appropriate Bank
If you’re going to levy the bank on a particular day of the month, then you should definitely use a licensed process server. They can do it at the specific day and time that you request whereas a sheriff will do it when they find the time to do it. After the bank is levied, be patient. The bank will freeze the account and all cash in it up to the amount of the writ. The bank will then hold the funds for roughly 15 days and then turn it over to the sheriff. The sheriff will then hold it for some time prior to sending it to you.
The debtor does have an opportunity to file a “Claim of Exemption,” stating that the cash in the account is exempt for whatever reason. This occurs in about 15% of the cases, but don’t worry about it happening in your case until it occurs. If it does, call the court to see what your options are.
Inform them you wish to file an opposition to the claim of exemption, and set a hearing. The debtor will need to appear in court and detail why the cash should be exempt. Usually the explanation isn’t valid, and the court will rule in your favor. It’s an added step and a little a hassle, but worth it to follow through.
Remember that nothing occurs quickly when dealing with government claims, so just be patient. The sheriff will alert you by mail how much money was levied and a check will arrive in about 30-45 days. Due to budget cuts in local counties, it may take even longer. Call the sheriff for the specific length of time.
If you’re searching for Orange County process servers that perform bank levies throughout the State of California, call JPL Process Service at (866) 754-0520 for quick turnaround, economical prices and the peace of mind your papers are served correctly and on time.
