After You Win: Collecting a Michigan Small Claims Judgment

Collecting is the step the small claims process leaves to you. The judge decides who owes what, but turning that paper judgment into money is the creditor’s job, and Michigan gives you several tools to do it. Michigan small claims handles money disputes up to Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.8401, currently $7,000; larger claims are filed on the district court’s general civil docket and follow the regular collection rules. This article covers how Michigan’s small claims court handles collection: the waiting period before you can start, how to locate the debtor’s income and assets, the three kinds of garnishment, seizing property, and how interest and the six-year enforcement window work. If the debtor has asked the court to undo the result, that runs on a separate track from collection; see appealing a Michigan small claims judgment. ## The 21-day wait before you can collect A Michigan judgment does not become collectible the moment it is signed. The court’s collection rules require a wait of 21 days after the judgment is entered before the court will issue a garnishment, an order to seize property, or any other writ to enforce payment. The gap exists so the losing party has time to pay voluntarily or to ask the court to set the judgment aside. The 21 days run from the date the judgment is entered, not the date of the hearing or the date you receive your copy in the mail, and weekends and holidays inside that span still count, as the court’s collection guide for small claims judgments explains. Nothing pauses the clock once it starts. If the debtor pays within the window, collection is over. If the window closes with the balance unpaid, the enforcement tools below become available.

## Find the debtor’s income and assets Collection works only when it is aimed at something real. A garnishment served on the wrong bank, or a wage garnishment against someone who changed jobs, returns nothing and still costs a fee. Before filing, the creditor needs to know where the debtor banks, who employs them, and what they own. When that information is unknown, Michigan’s judgment-collection rules let a creditor compel the debtor to disclose it. Through a court-ordered debtor examination, the creditor can require the debtor to appear and answer questions under oath about income, bank accounts, employment, and property. A debtor who ignores a properly served order to appear can be held in contempt. The examination is also the point at which many debtors agree to a payment arrangement rather than face repeated garnishments. ## Garnish wages, a bank account, or a tax refund Garnishment is the most common way to collect a Michigan small claims judgment. It works by ordering a third party who holds the debtor’s money, an employer, a bank, or the state Treasury, to turn that money over to you instead of to the debtor. The writ is filed with the same district court that entered the judgment, and Michigan uses a different form for each kind of garnishment. A **periodic garnishment** reaches money paid to the debtor on a recurring basis, mainly wages but also rent and similar payments. Since 2015, a periodic garnishment stays in effect until the judgment is fully paid rather than expiring after a set number of days, under Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.4012. The same statute requires the creditor to pay a $35 fee to the garnishee at the time the writ is served, and to send the debtor and garnishee a statement of the remaining balance at least every six months. A **nonperiodic garnishment** reaches a one-time source such as the balance in a checking or savings account. A garnishment served on the **state Treasury** intercepts the debtor’s Michigan income tax refund and applies it to the judgment.

1. Confirm the 21 days have passed

   Check the date the judgment was entered and count forward 21 days, including weekends and holidays. The court will not issue a writ before that date.

2. Choose the right writ

   Use the Request and Writ for Garnishment (Periodic), form MC 12, for wages and other recurring payments. Use the Nonperiodic version, form MC 13, for a bank account or other one-time funds. Use the Income Tax Refund/Credit version, form MC 52, to intercept a state tax refund.

3. File the writ with the court that entered the judgment

   File the completed request with the district court and pay the garnishment filing fee. The clerk issues the writ for you to serve.

4. Serve the writ and disclosure on the garnishee

   Deliver the writ to the employer, bank, or Treasury along with the garnishee disclosure form (MC 14). For a periodic garnishment, include the $35 garnishee fee required by statute.

5. Let the objection period run, then collect

   The debtor has 14 days after the writ is served or mailed to file objections (form MC 49). If no valid objection is filed, the garnishee withholds the funds and pays them toward the judgment.

The garnishee responds by filing a disclosure stating whether it holds any of the debtor’s money. If the disclosure shows nothing, such as an empty account or an employer who no longer pays the debtor, the garnishment ends with no recovery, and collecting means trying another source. ## Seize property or record a lien When the debtor has no reachable wages or accounts but owns property, a creditor can ask the court for an order directing a court officer or sheriff to seize and sell non-exempt personal property, such as a vehicle, and apply the proceeds to the judgment. The request goes to the district court that entered the judgment, and the court’s collection instructions walk through the forms and the officer’s fees, which come out of the sale. Real estate is reached differently. A creditor can record a lien against real property the debtor owns in the county, so that the debt must be paid when the property is sold or refinanced. A lien does not produce immediate cash, but it can outlast several rounds of failed garnishment and is often what finally gets a stubborn judgment paid. ## Interest, exemptions, and how long the judgment lasts Interest accrues on the unpaid judgment from the date the complaint was filed until the judgment is satisfied. For most cases, the rate is reset every January 1 and July 1 at one percentage point above the average yield on five-year U.S. Treasury notes, compounded annually, under Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.6013. The longer a debtor delays, the more the balance grows. Not everything the debtor has can be taken. Federal and Michigan law shield certain income and property from collection, including a portion of earnings and benefits such as Social Security. A debtor who believes garnished funds are exempt can raise that exemption through the objection process, which is one reason a garnishment can come back empty even when the source looked promising. A Michigan small claims judgment is treated as a judgment of a court “not of record.” That gives it a six-year window for enforcement, rather than the ten-year window that applies to most other district court judgments, under Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5809. Within that six years, a creditor who has not been paid can sue on the judgment to obtain a new judgment, which restarts the enforcement clock. Tracking the deadline matters: a judgment allowed to lapse loses its enforceability, and the underlying debt usually cannot be revived.

Frequently asked questions

How soon after winning can I start collecting?

Not until 21 days after the judgment is entered, according to the Michigan courts’ small claims collection guide. The court will not issue a garnishment or an order to seize property before then. The wait gives the debtor time to pay or to ask the court to set the judgment aside.

How do I find out where the debtor banks or works?

A judgment creditor can ask the court to order the debtor to appear and answer questions under oath about income, accounts, employment, and property, under the rule on supplementary proceedings. A debtor who ignores a properly served order can be held in contempt.

What does garnishment cost?

The court charges a filing fee to issue each writ, and a periodic (wage) garnishment requires a separate $35 fee paid to the garnishee when the writ is served, set by Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.4012. These costs are added to the balance the debtor owes, so a paying debtor reimburses them.

What if the garnishment comes back with no money?

A garnishee that holds none of the debtor’s money files a disclosure saying so, and that writ recovers nothing. Collection then means aiming at a different source, another bank, a wage garnishment, a tax-refund intercept, or seizing property. There is no limit on how many writs a creditor can request while the judgment remains enforceable.

How long do I have to collect a Michigan small claims judgment?

Six years from the date the judgment was entered, because a small claims judgment is treated as a judgment of a court not of record under Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5809. Within that period the judgment can be renewed by suing on it for a new judgment, which restarts the clock. Interest continues to accrue the entire time the balance is unpaid.

Can the debtor stop a garnishment?

A debtor can file objections on the garnishment objection form (MC 49) within 14 days after the writ is served or mailed, for reasons such as an exemption that protects the funds or an error in the writ. The court decides the objection. Filing late or without a valid ground does not stop a properly issued garnishment.

Sources

• Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.8401 (small claims division; $7,000 jurisdiction)legislature.mi.gov
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.4012 (garnishment of periodic payments; $35 garnishee fee)legislature.mi.gov
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.6013 (interest on a money judgment)legislature.mi.gov
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5809 (period of limitation for enforcing a judgment)legislature.mi.gov
• Michigan Courts: Collecting Your Money From a Small Claims Judgment (DCI 84)courts.michigan.gov
• Michigan Courts: Garnishment forms (MC 12, MC 13, MC 52, MC 14, MC 49)courts.michigan.gov
• Michigan Department of Treasury: Garnishment FAQsmichigan.gov

See also: Filing a Small Claims Case in Michigan. See also: What to Expect at a Michigan Small Claims Hearing. See also: wage garnishment in Michigan. See also: recover car damage through a Michigan mini tort claim.