Enforcement of Judgment FAQs

A citation to discover assets is a post-judgment collection tool utilized by a judgment creditor to discover what assets the judgment debtor has in order to satisfy a judgment.

A wage garnishment is a tool utilized by a judgment debtor to garnish the wages of a judgment debtor at their place of employment. A wage garnishment can only garnish a certain portion of the debtor's wages each pay period and must be served on the employer.

A detinue action is like a replevin action in that it is seeking to have property returned to its rightful owner. It is different because the person holding the property was legally entitled to it at one point but is now unlawfully retaining the property. For example, if someone stops paying on their car loan, the lender may seek to repossess the car through a detinue action.

A third-party citation is a post-judgment remedy issued by a creditor to a third-party who owes the judgment debtor money, such as a bank. You can step into the shoes of the judgment debtor and collect the money from the third-party if you have reason to believe the third-party is holding assets of the judgment debtor.

If someone has wrongfully taken or withheld property that belongs to you, you can file an Illinois lawsuit asking the court to have the property returned to you. You must be able to identify the property, where the property is, who has wrongfully taken it from you and explain why you are the rightful owner.