While some court judgments are paid in full immediately, others take months or years to collect. The creditor is entitled to interest on the judgment until it is paid, and may also collect most of the costs incurred to collect the judgment, such as court filling fees and levying officers' costs.

It is important to carefully keep track of what is collected and what is due to be paid. If we collect more than is owed, we must return the overpayment to the judgment debtor immediately. We could inadvertently collect too much for example, we simultaneously attempt both a wage levy and a bank levy in different counties.

A. Post-Judgment Costs

Various costs are specifically collectable according to statute and can be added to a judgment with a Memorandum of Costs (CCP5685 070).

1. Costs That May Be Added to the Judgment

• Clerk's filing fees (such as for obtaining a Writ of Execution of Abstract of Judgment)
• Statutory fees charged, and costs incurred, by the levying officer for attempting a levy under a Writ of Execution
• Statutory fees charged by a process server for serving the Application and Notice of Order of Examination or Subpena Duces Tecum, if they are approved by the court in which the debtor's examination is conducted.
• Fees charged to have a bench warrant issued and served if the debtor doesn't show up at the debtor's examination, if the judge approves them.
• Fees expended for recording an Abstract of Judgment to place a lien on the debtor's real estate.
• Fees for filing a Notice of Judgment Lien on Business Personal Property
• Notary fees incurred in the collection process (if, for instance, you file a partial Satisfaction of Judgment)
• Fees connected with bringing a motion, if approved by the judge.
• Attorney fees, if the judgment called for attorney fees on the basis of a contract or statute (CCP§685.040)

2. Costs That Can't Be Added to the Judgment

Costs other than those detailed in Section 1 above may not be added to the judgment. For instance, the following costs will be disallowed if challenged by the debtor:

• Fees for your own time spent enforcing the judgment.
• Parking fees incurred when visiting the sheriff or court clerk, etc.
• Lunch expenses incurred while interviewing investigators or other collection professionals.
• Long distance telephone charges.
• Fees paid to process servers which have not been approved by the court.
• Fax and copying charges.
• Corporate search fees and
• Mileage

See Section A.4 below for more on how to recover reasonable costs that aren't detailed in Section 1.

3. Costs and Levies

When a levy is made against the judgment debtor's assets, the levying officer is authorized to collect the e Writ of Execution) and the cost of that particular collection. amount remaining on the judgment (shown in the Writ of These cost include:

• The statutory fee for issuance of the Writ of Execution under which the levy is made and
• The levying officer's statutory fees and allowable costs for doing the levy

For example, if you instruct the sheriff to levy on the judgment debtor's bank account, you pay a statutory fee as well as actual costs. If the levy is successful, the levying officer will recover the deposit that you advanced and as much of the amount owing under the judgment as he can.

If a levy is unsuccessful because a claim of exemption is filed, or the levying officer doesn't collect enough even to cover your deposit, you are temporarily out of the money. You may even have to pay the levying officer more, if the deposit didn't cover his costs.

However, you are entitled to recover these amounts from the judgment debtor if you file a Memorandum of Costs Then, unless the debtor successfully objects to a specific cost (which is rare), the documented costs are fully collectable as part of your judgment.

Example: You instruct the sheriff to levy against the debtor's car, and put up a $400 deposit, only to find out after the car has been seized that it is essentially worthless. Until you discover assets that you can successfully collect, you will be $400 poorer for your effort (assuming the levying officer used up the deposit - it is possible some of it was refunded to you).

What, however, if you later discover a large bank account that will not only satisfy your judgment but also cover your $400? The levying officer will not be able to collect that $400 as part of the bank levy, since it is unrelated. To make the $400 collectable, you'll have to file a Memorandum of Costs with the court. Then the $400 can be collected as part of the judgment.

Exemptions Note: If you attempt a levy and the assets are determined to be exempt (for example, the debtor files a Claim of Exemption which is upheld), you can still, generally, recover costs of the levy from the judgment debtor. This is because the levy itself was proper, the fact that a levy is later disallowed doesn't mean that you weren't entitled to try. (A notable exception is levying against homesteaded real estate)

4. Other Collection Costs

A California judgment creditor is entitled to "the reasonable and necessary cost of enforcing a judgment A (CCP5885.040) However, unless the cost is one of those specified in Section A 1 above, you must file a motion with the court, give the judgment debtor notice of the hearing on the motion, and convince the judge that the cost is reasonable (CCP5685.080).

Example: You use a registered process server in a levy on the judgment debtor's bank account because the levying officer has a two-week backlog and you're afraid the funds will evaporate if you don't act quickly. The process server's fees tum out to be $105 Fees and cost a paid to a registered process server aren't listed in the statute-only fees and costs charged by the levying officer are collectable through a Memorandum of Costs. However, if you can convince a judge that a registered process server was necessary, the judge will award you the cost. Generally, judges are lenient in awarding this type e of cost when the judgment creditor demonstrates good faith.

Many creditors claim costs in a Memorandum of Costs that are not authorized by statute such as process servers' fees. It is up to the debtor to get these costs disallowed. We do not recommend that you add in extravagant costs of collection. However, if you're not sure if your costs can be claimed through a Memorandum of Costs, and you believe in good faith that they're reasonable, you can try including them and see what the debtor does.

B. Post-judgment interest

We can recover interest on the unpaid portion of a judgment and on unpaid costs that have been claimed on a Memorandum of Costs. If the original judgment was appealed and we won the appeal, interest accrues from the date judgment was first entered. If the judgment is an installment judgment, interest accrues on each installment as it becomes due

Interest accrues at the rate of 10% per year (CCP§685.01 0). The statutory post-judgment interest rate went up January 1, 1983. If the judgment was obtained before then, we collect interest at the rate of 7% annually before January 1, 1983, and at 10% after that date. However, a judgment against the State of California or any of its agencies is collectable at only 7% per year as set forth in Article XV, § 1, of the California Constitution (California Fed. Sav. & Loan Assn. v. City ofLosAngeles (1995) 11 Cal. 4th 342).

If none of the judgment has been paid, it is fairly easy to compute the interest. If, on the other hand, we have received some payments and costs have been incurred, calculating the interest due on the judgment may get a little tricky. We explain how to do this in Section C, below.

For collection purposes, there are two types of interest:

• Interest that accrues between the time the judgment is entered and the time the Writ of Execution is issued and
• Interest that accrues between the date of issuance of the Writ of Execution and the actual levy.

The first type of interest must be properly documented before it can be collected by the levying officer. You do this first by claiming the interest due on a Memorandum of Costs (see Section D, below), and indicating the amount of interest due on a Writ of Execution.

The second type of interest can be collected by the levying officer without prior documentation by you, since the Writ of Execution directs the levying officer to collect interest on the amount remaining on the judgment A Writ of Execution lasts for 180 days, so it's possible that several months' worth of interest will mount up by the time a levy is completed. It the levying officer collects enough to cover that interest, he will forward it to US.

C. Memorandum of Costs

The claim and collect post-judgment costs and interest, we must periodically complete and file with the court a form that documents these amounts. We refer to this form as the Memorandum of Costs. It vanes from court to court-a few courts require two forms. For instance, one court may have us document costs and credits on one form, and interest on another, whereas another may require costs and interest on one form but no documentation of credits. The forms go by different names, from court to court, including:

• Memorandum of Costs After Judgment
• Cost Bill After Judgment
• Declaration for Accrued Interest After Judgment
• Memorandum of Credits, Accrued Interests, and Cost After Judgment.

The Judicial Council form can be used in many courts. If your court has its own form or forms, use them instead.

We don't have to file a Memorandum of Costs at any particular time, as long as we do it within two years of the date the costs were incurred (CCP5685.070b). However, having our costs documented means that they are added to the judgment itself, and we can then recover interest on them. Therefore, it makes. sense to file a Memorandum of Costs whenever we incur significant costs that we don't recover.