Under the United States Constitution, individual States are required to honor the judgments of another State as ruled by their courts. However, in the State of Massachusetts, this is not an automatic process. Foreign judgments awarded outside the State of Massachusetts must be domesticated before they can be enforced in Massachusetts.
At the Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC, we routinely represent businesses and creditors throughout the United States and beyond to collect their commercial debts. We are committed and skilled in the domestication and collection of judgments, whether they originate inside or outside the State of Massachusetts.
The key to enforcing any judgment is finding and attaching assets that can then be liquidated. Often, parties who know that they owe on a judgment will move their assets or convey them to a third party.
Collecting takes patience, persistence, and a lot of work. Fortunately, if you have a judgment, Attorney Cohen will employ every effective legal tactic to see that you get what you are owed.
Filing & Collecting a Foreign Judgment in Massachusetts
If you have an out-of-state judgment with a Massachusetts’ debtor, the first step is to obtain a Massachusetts judgment which serves in place of a foreign judgment. While this is underway, Attorney Cohen investigates the debtor’s situation, determining assets in Massachusetts that can be seized via obtaining an ex parte attachment.
Allowable attachments, such as bank accounts, real estate, and other assets are then seized to secure payment of your debt. Though a debtor cannot go to jail in Massachusetts for failure to pay a debt, he or she can go to jail for failing to show up in court regarding their ability to pay.
Attorney Cohen also works on behalf of holders of a judgment – – whether from Massachusetts, any other State or from a foreign country — to enforce the judgment under Massachusetts law. Rest assured that we are well-versed in pursuing enforceable judgments from foreign countries.
If you have a commercial debt owed to you by a debtor in the State of Massachusetts, the Law Offices of Alan M. Cohen & Associates LLC are here to help you collect that debt. Our clients often receive the money they are owed without having to appear in person.
Let us help you using aggressive, legal methods that generate results. Contact Attorney Cohen today at 508-763-6604 or email [email protected].