The truth about judgments is everything depends only on the judgment debtor. In reality, a million dollar judgment might be worth $20 cash upfront, a $4,000 judgment might be worth $1,000.

One of many judgment articles: I am a Judgment Broker, not a lawyer, and this article is my opinion, please consult with a lawyer if you need legal advice.

The most popular (by far) recovery option is to use a contingency future payment recovery (enforcement) expert. The average future percentage a creditor can expect to pay for typical judgments is 50/50, however if your debtor is rich, you might get a better rate. Whether the debtor is rich is up to the enforcer, who goes by what the public records show, not by what the creditor tells them.

Most judgment creditors do not want to accept the truth, and go with companies that lie or offer them false hope. I have arranged or seen thousands of judgment sales. Based on my long-term first-hand experience, the average price paid cash upfront is less than five cents on the dollar. I have seen a few exceptions, the highest percentage paid cash upfront was 37% of the judgment’s face value, and that was for a filthy rich celebrity debtor.

The average future pay recovery percentage is 50/50. On a few big judgments with rich debtors having lots of available assets, I have seen as low as 12% to the judgment enforcer with 88% going to the judgment creditor.

Despite my comprehensive and unique experiences, many judgment creditors ignore my assessment of their situations; and shop their judgments all over the web for years and never get paid a dime for their judgments. I call such creditors “tire kickers”.

I unplugged my telephone because too many tire kickers and professional shoppers were wasting my time. I now use email and fax, and only occasionally call creditors.

After years, I finally concluded that I should only help those willing to read, follow my simple instructions, and that can accept reality. If people cannot follow step one on the first page of our website, we cannot help them.

Only if you send a copy of your judgment, and send what you know about your debtor, and an address for them, and their approximate age; can anyone in the judgment business help you.

Especially on default judgments, proof of service is very important. What you get cash upfront, or how much percentage of whatever is recovered on a contingency future payment basis you get, depends only on your judgment debtor’s available assets.

For a judgment enforcer, a sober and reasonable creditor is just as important as a debtor with assets.

All too often, I am sent a description of a judgment, but not the judgment itself; or a copy of the judgment without any information about the debtor. I email the creditors, and if they respond within a week, they are my top priority. If they do not respond within a week I delete their email(s) or fax. There are too many shoppers and tire kickers out there!