united-states enforcing-judgment
I am a judgment creditor. How do I use the court to enforce my rights (without a lawyer)?
<p>This is for New York City.</p>

<p>I am a judgment creditor, having won my judgments solo through small claims, and am aware of my rights now that I possess a judgment. I wish to compel the judgment debtor to testify as to his finances, and would like to ask the court to penalize him should he fail to appear/answer, and otherwise fully exercise my rights. However, these seem to be things that I would require a lawyer for, as they appear to have some kind of special behind-the-scenes access.</p>

<p>But surely there must be a way for an average citizen to use the court by himself. Perhaps there’s a form for that?</p>

<p>If you don't want to hire a lawyer, you can do it yourself. You need to study the rules of the court, file an appropriate motion in the relevant court (etc.), and argue your case when you get a hearing. Unfortunately, if you don't know how to file a motion or who to file the motion with, you will need to learn a bunch of law in order to do it. If you just write "I want my money", you won't get what you want and you might get what you don't want (for wasting the court's time). It's not that lawyers have special behind the scenes access, it's that they know what to do. There's a rule that we can't help you. So hire a lawyer, or learn what the lawyer knows and go <em>pro se.</em></p>
