California Debt Collection Blog

The amount required to satisfy a money judgment in California is the total amount of the judgment as entered or renewed, plus costs added after judgment, plus accrued interest on the judgment, minus any payments or partial satisfactions or amounts no longer enforceable.  See Code of Civil Procedure § 695.210. Calculating Principal The principal amount of the California judgment is the amount of the judgment as entered or as last renewed, together with any costs added to the judgment, reduced by any payments or partial satisfactions or amount no longer enforceable.  See Code ...

The short answer is 10 years, with an opportunity to extend for an additional 10 years.  Unless certain exceptions apply, a money judgment may not be enforced after 10 years from the date of its entry (or 10 years from the date each installment comes due on an installment judgment).  In other words, in California judgments expire 10 years from the date they are entered by the court.  Upon expiration of the 10-year period, all enforcement procedures must cease; any liens based upon the judgment are automatically extinguished.  See Code ...

If your judgment debtor lives, works or owns property in California, consider immediately “domesticating” your out-of-state judgment in California.  Pursuant to the Sister State Money-Judgments Act, a money judgment obtained in another state may be quickly “converted” into a California judgment. The judgment may then be enforced as if it was originally entered in California.  See Code of Civil Procedure § 1710.10 et seq. Often times debtors do not fear out-of-state judgments to the same extent they fear judgments entered in the state they reside.  This is because out-of-state judgments are ...