What Is a Citation to Discover Assets?
Dec. 6, 2019
A citation to discover assets is a tool utilized by a judgment creditor to discover and recover assets of a judgment debtor. A citation to discover assets allows the creditor to compel a debtor to give complete disclosure of the debtor’s financial situation. In Illinois, a citation to discover assets is a powerful tool in that it can be used to perform any action utilized in all other post-judgment procedures, as more fully outlined below.
The citation to discover assets is a continuing lien on any of the debtor’s property and allows for a creditor to discover all assets belonging to the debtor. This is an extraordinary remedy that can be used to reach recalcitrant or dishonest debtors who are unwilling (but oftentimes able) to satisfy the judgments entered against them.
A citation to discover assets does many things that other post-judgment procedures such as wage garnishments and nonwage garnishments don’t. Namely, a citation to discover assets creates a continuing lien upon service on the debtor or a third-party that you believe may have assets of the debtor. In addition, it creates a lien on all personal property. Next, a citation to discover assets requires the respondent to appear personally in court or they may be held in contempt of court. In addition, you can serve the citation to discover assets via certified mail and you may be able to get attorney fees in a citation to discover assets proceeding. IllinoisAttorney.com has extensive experience in collecting judgments via a citation to discover assets. If you have a judgment in Illinois, please contact us to assist you in collecting your judgment.