If the debtor does not comply with a judgment, you will have to enforce it against the debtor’s assets. However, if you cannot locate their assets, a judgment may be no more than a piece of paper. This is often the case when the debtor is in financial difficulties.
What assets the debtor has should be considered as part of the question of debt recovery. It should be established prima facie that the debtor has the means to pay the amount in question or has assets that you can take from them before starting any collection efforts.
We have several means to locate debtors’ assets. Pre-action investigations, including real property searches, are less powerful. However, once we obtain an enforceable instrument such as a judgment, more powerful means, including asset disclosure procedures, become available.