Judgment Collection Rate Calculator

Legal judgments don't always collect. This calculator estimates recovery rate and timing.

Judgment amount

Debtor employment

Locatable assets $

Years to collect

Expected recovery

$12,300

Recovery %

68.33%

Annual avg payment

$3,075

How the math works

Recovery scales with employment status and asset location, spread over years.

Document all known debtor assets and employer at judgment entry. Fresh data collects faster. Let a judgment age without refresh and debtor moves, changes jobs, and recovery halves.

How to Use

Enter judgment amount.
Select debtor employment status.
Enter assets locatable estimate.
Enter years to full collection.
Read expected recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typical collection?

30-50% of judgments fully collect within 5 years. Rest partially collect or expire. Collection rate depends heavily on debtor employment and asset location.

Collection tools?

Wage garnishment (strongest for employed debtors). Bank levy. Lien on real estate. Asset seizure. Each has state-specific limits; consult collection attorney for strategy.

When to sell?

Old uncollected judgments can be sold to collection firms for 5-15 cents on the dollar. Accept if internal collection efforts have plateaued for 12+ months.

How does this interact with the rest of the capital stack?

Each tier of the stack affects the next. Senior debt constrains LTC and DSCR. Mezz and pref consume equity spread. Interest rate hedges protect DSCR but cost premium. Always model the full stack holistically — optimizing one tier alone often degrades another. Institutional underwriters run three or four scenarios across the stack before committing capital.