Recover Judgments (Writs of Execution)

Writs of Execution are never recommended over Garnishment actions because of the costs involved and the difficulty of carrying out the order.

In order to obtain a writ of execution, you must first ask the court clerk to enter the judgment on the district court judgment docket, (the same as in a garnishment proceeding and there is usually no charge for this service).

Once the judgment is entered, the court clerk can issue a Writ of Execution, which you then take to the county Sheriff. The writ of execution is an order directing the Sheriff to seize certain property of the debtor and sell it in a manner prescribed by law. The proceeds from the sale are used to pay the judgment.

The benefits of this approach are that the Writ of Execution is issued at no charge (unlike a Writ of Garnishment), assistance of an attorney will probably not be needed, and the cost of execution (usually around $80 plus mileage) can be recovered.

The drawbacks of this approach are that the Sheriff needs exact details of the description and location of the property being seized, a bond double the value of the property taken (usually a minimum of $5,000) and certain other legal limitations on the kind of property the Sheriff can take under this procedure. (See Debtor Exemptions

Because of the extra costs involved, garnishment is almost always recommended over Writ of Execution!