Citation to Discover Assets
A Citation to Discover Assets
If a creditor sues you for money and wins, the court gives the creditor a judgment against you. The judgment tells how much money you owe the creditor and orders you to pay it.
Following the judgment, the creditor may try to collect the money you owe by requiring you to appear before the court for a Citation to Discover Assets. During this proceeding, the creditor wants to discover the amount of your income and the value of your property that he can seize to collect the money you owe. The court may require that you bring to the hearing certain financial documents including tax returns, bank statements, and payroll stubs.
The Citation to Discover Assets Creates an Automatic Lien
The creditor will send you written notice spelling out your legal rights, as well as the date and time of your court hearing. The date of the hearing is called the return date. At that time, you must appear in court and answer questions asked by your creditor's lawyer relating to your income and property. If you don't come to the hearing - or if you don't have the documents that were requested - the judge could have you arrested and charged with contempt of court.
Once a Citation to Discover Assets is issued, a lien is automatically placed on all of your nonexempt property. This means you cannot make or allow any transfers of your nonexempt property. If you do, you may be subject to court penalties for failing to obey the citation.
If the creditor serves your bank with a Citation to Discover Assets, then the bank must freeze all of your accounts unless the funds are exempt. Then the bank must appear in court and you should attend the hearing to assert your rights of exemption. The bank may not give money to your creditor without a court order.
