You Won the Judgment. Now Collect It.
A judgment is a piece of paper that says someone owes you money. It is not the money. In Maine, turning one into the other is its own process, and it is where a lot of cases quietly die because nobody wants to do the next part. Here is what the next part looks like.
First, a short wait
Nothing happens the day the judgment is entered. Under Maine's civil rules, no execution can issue and no enforcement can begin until 21 days have passed. That is the same window the other side has to appeal. If they appeal, enforcement may be stayed. If they don't, the clock is yours.
The disclosure hearing
Maine's main tool is the disclosure proceeding in District Court. You subpoena the debtor to appear, under oath, with the documents you ask for, and answer questions about what they own and what they earn. Bank accounts, vehicles, real estate, business interests, who pays them and how much. They are entitled to argue that some income or assets are exempt, and some are.
If the debtor ignores the subpoena, the court has teeth: a civil order of arrest, and an order to the employer to withhold part of their wages. Most people show up.
What the judge can order
Once the debtor's finances are on the record, the court can order installment payments out of income. It can order a third party who holds the debtor's property, like a bank, to hold it and answer. It can order wage withholding directly from an employer. It can order non-exempt property turned over and sold. If the debtor is unemployed, it can order them to look for work. These orders can be modified as circumstances change, and a debtor who violates one faces contempt.
You can bring the debtor back for another disclosure, but generally no more than once every six months unless you show good cause for an earlier one.
The lien on real estate
Separately from the disclosure process, you can record the execution at the registry of deeds in any county where the debtor owns real estate. That creates a lien on the property for the amount of the judgment, interest and costs. You have to mail the debtor notice within 20 days of recording or the lien is void. For liens recorded since September 2020, it lasts ten years and can be renewed once. A debtor who wants to sell or refinance has to deal with you first. Sometimes that lien is what finally gets the phone call.
How long you have
A Maine judgment is presumed paid after 20 years. In practice, the useful window is shorter than that, because people move, businesses close and assets get spent. Interest runs in the meantime, but interest on money you never collect is just a bigger number on the same piece of paper.
What I tell clients before we start
Collection work costs money, so the first question is what the debtor actually has. If the answer is nothing and no prospects, I will tell you that, and we will talk about whether to record the lien and wait rather than spend on hearings. If the answer is a job, a house or a business, there is a plan.
I handle collection on judgments I have won and on judgments other lawyers won and then set aside. This post is general information, not legal advice. More on how I handle civil cases, start to finish, is on the Civil Litigation page, or call (207) 373-9302.