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fightback
Apr 18, 2011, 01:19 PM
Department of Child Support in Orange County does not enter Abstract Judgments in other states although they indicate that they do on their website as interstate judgments.
I have called and informed them that NCP has real estate investment(s) such as homes and (one large land -this is owned free and clear with his partner 50/50) in Hawaii but they refuse to enter an Abstract Judgment or Support Judgments. Their answer through their Customer Services as well as their Enforcement Team is that: they only enter one of the above in CA counties only.
At of this moment, NCP has been paying on and off and I still have more then a decade to deal with these support delays. I have the right to protect my child because I am not sure if DCSS is doing enough to enforce the arrears. Please help me understand if I should file on my own one of the above in the State of Hawaii?

GV70
Apr 18, 2011, 07:15 PM
According to the law dictionary
Abstract of judgment n. a written summary of a judgment which states how much money the losing defendant owes to the person who won the lawsuit (judgment creditor), the rate of interest to be paid on the judgment amount, court costs, and any specific orders that the losing defendant (judgment debtor) must obey, which abstract is acknowledged and stamped so that it can be recorded and made official with the government. The purpose of an abstract of judgment is to create a public record and create a lien or claim if necessary on any real estate property owned or later acquired by the defendant located in the county in which the abstract of judgment is recorded. If the loser does not pay the judgment voluntarily then the winner can force a sheriff's sale of any property to collect. There are several problems:
1) to find the county where the loser owns real estate property;
2) the probability that there are secured loans, tax liens and/or other judgments that come ahead of the judgment lien;
3) the possibility that the loser/debtor may go bankrupt and avoid paying the debt

The term "abstract of judgment" may be used in a generic sense to describe a condensed summary of a court case, but it is chiefly used in a technical sense to describe a document produced by a court which describes the judgment rendered in a case.



My advice:

1Go back to the court that ruled in your favor to obtain the abstract of judgment. The abstract will list information about you, the debtor and the amount that you're owed, which usually includes court costs and interest rates.

2File the abstract of judgment with the county recorder's office in a county in which the debtor owns "real property"--that is, land or a home. This establishes your lien, or claim on a share of the proceeds when the property is sold.

3Contact the county sheriff about forcing a sale to secure your payment. If that can't be done immediately, remember that the longer it takes to receive your money, the more interest accumulates.

AK lawyer
Apr 18, 2011, 08:43 PM
GV70, it appears to me that OP used the wrong term. An abstract of judgment, according to the definition you have found, has nothing to do with what she needs.

She really needs to register her judgment in the State of Hawaii. And if California Child Support won't do that, she should look into doing it herself. And, taking it one step further, she should explore the possibility of collecting the judgment in Hawaii. She probably needs a Hawaiian attorney for that.

GV70
Apr 19, 2011, 06:40 AM
GV70, it appears to me that OP used the wrong term.

Agreed!
I will repeat myself:
2File the abstract of judgment with the county recorder's office in a county in which the debtor owns "real property"--that is, land or a home. This establishes your lien, or claim on a share of the proceeds when the property is sold.

3Contact the county sheriff about forcing a sale to secure your payment. If that can't be done immediately, remember that the longer it takes to receive your money, the more interest accumulates.