If you sued someone for money and received a judgment, you have the right to collect the money.
The judgment will direct the defendant to pay you within 21 days of when the judgment was signed, or make arrangements to pay you in installment payments. If the defendant does not voluntarily pay you within that time frame, you may proceed to collect your judgment in several different ways. You may pursue the methods of collection one at a time, or all at once. These methods are described below and are reviewed in more detail on subsequent pages.
Garnishment of wages or any type of regular payments defendant receives, called a Periodic Garnishment; Garnishment of money held by someone in defendant's name such as a bank account, called a Non-Periodic Garnishment; Garnishment of Michigan State income tax refunds. Seizure of Property belonging to the defendant seized by an officer authorized by the Court. The property is sold, Court approved costs are deducted, and the balance, if any, is forwarded to you.
If you don't have sufficient information to pursue any of the above methods, you may file a Discovery Subpoena, also called a Creditor's Exam, which is served on the defendant and scheduled for hearing in court. At this hearing you may question the defendant to obtain the information you need to pursue one of these methods of collection.