Enforcing a Judgment: Turning Paper into Payment
Garnishment, writs of seizure and sale, and examination hearings — the tools available in Ontario and BC when a debtor will not pay.
The judgment is the halfway point
Winning at trial produces a piece of paper. If the debtor does not pay voluntarily, enforcement is a second campaign — and an investigative one. Knowing where a debtor banks, works, and holds assets is often worth more than any legal argument.
Ontario tools
- Garnishment (Form 20E) — intercepts the debtor's wages (up to 20% of net wages) or bank accounts. Served on the employer or bank, which must pay funds into court.
- Writ of Seizure and Sale of Personal Property — directs the enforcement office to seize and sell the debtor's personal property.
- Writ of Seizure and Sale of Land — filed with the sheriff in the county where the debtor owns land; it binds the land and can force a sale after 4 months (sale process is rare, but the writ clouds title and often prompts payment on refinancing or sale).
- Examination in Aid of Execution — the debtor is summoned to court and questioned under oath about income, assets, and debts. Non-attendance can lead to a contempt hearing and, ultimately, a warrant.
British Columbia tools
- Payment hearings — the Provincial Court equivalent of an examination; the judge can order a payment schedule.
- Garnishing orders — obtained under the Court Order Enforcement Act; pre- and post-judgment garnishment of bank accounts and (post-judgment) wages.
- Writ of seizure and sale — court bailiffs seize personal property.
- Registration against land — a judgment can be registered in the Land Title Office against the debtor's real property for 2 years, renewable.
Why an investigator's skill set matters
Skip tracing, asset identification, and corporate searches are the difference between a garnishment that hits an empty account and one that collects. A quarter-century of investigative policing experience is directly transferable to finding what debtors would prefer stayed hidden.
Limitation periods
In Ontario, a Small Claims judgment can generally be enforced for 20 years, but writs must be renewed. In BC, a judgment expires after 10 years unless renewed by action. Do not sit on a judgment.