Creditor-Debtor Litigation

I won a judgment but the debtor won't pay. Now what?

A judgment gives you the legal tools to collect, but you have to use them. We can garnish the debtor's wages and bank accounts (RCW 6.27), record a lien against their real estate (RCW 4.56.190), have the sheriff execute against and sell their property (RCW 6.17), and compel the debtor to appear and answer questions under oath about their assets (RCW 6.32). The first step is usually finding the assets, then deploying the right tool against each. Some debtors pay once enforcement starts; others require sustained effort, which we manage.

A creditor is garnishing my wages or bank account. Can I stop it?

Often you can reduce or stop it. Washington protects a portion of wages and exempts categories of property and funds, including a homestead in your residence and various personal-property and retirement exemptions (RCW 6.13 and RCW 6.15), and creditors sometimes garnish exempt funds improperly. We move to claim the exemptions, challenge defective or excessive garnishments, and free protected money that's been frozen. We also assess whether the underlying judgment or debt can be challenged. Acting quickly matters, because exemption claims have deadlines once a garnishment is served.

How is this different from your business group's creditor-debtor work?

It's the litigation and enforcement side. Our business group handles the transactional and advisory work: structuring loans, negotiating workouts and forbearance, and planning around insolvency. This practice takes over when the matter is contested or has reached the courtroom, suing or defending on the debt, enforcing or resisting a judgment, fighting over collateral, or litigating fraudulent transfers and bankruptcy disputes. The two work closely together, so a matter can move smoothly between a negotiated workout and hard enforcement as the situation requires.

The debtor transferred assets to family right before I could collect. Can that be undone?

Possibly. Washington's Uniform Voidable Transactions Act lets a creditor challenge transfers a debtor made to put assets beyond reach, including transfers for less than fair value or made while insolvent or with intent to hinder creditors (RCW 19.40). If a court finds the transfer voidable, it can be unwound or the recipient held liable. These claims turn on timing, the debtor's solvency, and the badges of fraud surrounding the transfer. We investigate the transfers, and where the facts support it, we move to recover the assets that were moved out of reach.

What is a receivership, and when does it make sense?

A receivership is a court-supervised process in which a neutral receiver takes control of a troubled business or property to preserve, operate, or liquidate it for the benefit of creditors (RCW 7.60). It can be an alternative to bankruptcy, useful when a single asset or business needs to be stabilized and sold in an orderly way, or when creditors need a neutral party in control. We seek the appointment of a receiver for creditors, oppose it for owners and debtors where appropriate, and represent parties within an existing receivership. Whether it makes sense depends on the assets, the creditors, and the goal.

Should I just let the debtor file bankruptcy?

Not necessarily, and not without advice. A bankruptcy filing triggers an automatic stay that halts collection, but it doesn't end your rights as a creditor: you can file a claim, seek relief from the stay to pursue specific collateral, object to discharge of a debt obtained by fraud, and defend against preference demands to claw back recent payments. The right move depends on whether your claim is secured, whether the debtor has non-exempt assets, and how the case is shaping up. We protect creditors' positions inside bankruptcy and coordinate with the firm's broader insolvency work.