An Earnings Withholding Order (Wage Garnishment) is one of the most common ways to enforce (collect) a judgment.
Process
In order to process an Earning Withholding Order, we will need the following items:
- An original and one copy of the Writ of Execution from the court
- An original Application for Earnings Withholding Order (WG-001) which can be downloaded from the California Courts website
- Fee payment of $45 must be provided to us for service
Service
We will serve the documents above and all other necessary documents to the employer or payroll office (CCP 706.101). The address must be in Marin County. A service packet will be provided for both the employer and the employee.
We can not perform an eviction until the property owner or authorized representative obtains a court order. The standard court order is a Writ of Possession of Real Property (EJ-130). You may obtain all the forms needed to complete an Eviction from the California Courts.
Process
Please provide the following items to begin the eviction process:
- The original Writ of Possession of Real Property and 1 copy
- Eviction Instruction Form click here. Initial fee payment of $180 must be provided to us for service per address
(Re-post fee is $125 per address)
Service
- The first step is the service the five-day “Notice to Vacate”. The “Notice to Vacate” is either personally served on the occupant or posted at the eviction address with a copy mailed to the same address.
- Once the the five-day notice has been posted/served, the Civil Deputy will notify the local contact person of the date and time of the restoration appointment. Our Civil Deputy will provide the local contact person with the “Eviction Restoration Notice.” The “Eviction Restoration Notice” describes the penalties for unlawful re-entry of the property. It also describes the rights and responsibilities of the property owner or authorized representative as to personal property left on the premises.
Evictions are contingent on the Civil Deputy’s availability and are carried out on weekdays only.
A Levy is one of the most common ways to enforce (collect) a judgment. There are many different types of Levies which the Sheriff can perform. The two most common are Bank and Third Party Levies. You may obtain all the forms required to complete a Levy from the California Courts website.
A Bank Levy may provide you with the amount of judgment in full; however the Levy is effective on the date of service only. If the entire judgment is not collected, additional Levies may be performed.
A Third Party Levy is commonly referred to as levying on the “debtor of the debtor.” The levy would be served on the person or entity that would be paying the judgment debtor. One example of a third party levy would be levying on monies owed to an independent contractor, commissions, bonuses, tips, etc.
For information on the Levies listed below, please contact the Civil Division:
- Keeper Levy
- Personal Property Levy (including vehicles)
- Real Property Levy
- Till Tap
- Writ of Sale
Process
Tin order to process a Levy, we will need the following items:
- An original and one copy of the Writ of Execution from the court
- A letter of instruction containing:
- For a Bank Levy
- Name and address of financial institution
- Name and address of judgment debtor
- If known, account number with financial institution
- If known, judgment debtor’s social security number
- Fee payment of $50 must be provided to us for service.
- For a Third Party Levy
- Name and address of third party
- Name and address of judgment debtor
- Description of the property to be levied
- If known, judgment debtor’s social security number
- Fee payment of $50 must be provided to us for service.
For instructions, please click here.
Service
We will serve the documents above to the person or entity at the address you provide (pursuant to CCP 701.030). The address must be within Marin County. After the documents have been served, a copy of the documents will be mailed to the judgment debtor.
Process
A temporary restraining order must be issued by the court, and the restrained party must then be served. We will attempt service as long as we are provided with an address in Marin County. To ensure that all law enforcement agencies are aware of the order, we will also add the restraining order to the Restraining Order System via California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (CLETS).
If you are able to serve the restrained party before we do, you must notify us, provide us with a copy of the Proof of Service and make sure to file the original Proof of Service with the court!
Types of Restraining Orders
We serve all of the restraining orders listed below. Additional information, as well as forms, can be found on the California Courts web site.
- Domestic Violence Prevention
- Elder or Dependant Adult Abuse
- Civil Harassment
- Juvenile
- Workplace Violence
Service
A temporary restraining order is issued with a court date and must be served within a specified number of days prior to the hearing. The time frame for service will be indicated on the temporary restraining order.
For instructions, please click here.
Fees
Fees are automatically waived for all Domestic Violence Prevention and Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse restraining orders. For all other types of restraining orders, we will not charge a service fee if the court has waived their filing fee. If the court filing fees are not waived, you will be required to pay the Sheriff’s service fee of $50.
To start the process you must file a Plaintiffs Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court (SC-100) with the court. If you are interested in additional information on Small Claims, please refer to the California Courts web site.
Process
When a Small Claims action is filed with the court, the plaintiff in the case must notify the defendant. A Proof of Service is the document that is filed with the court that shows the defendant has been notified. A Small Claims case can not be heard until the defendant has been served. Please refer to our Service of Process Civil section for the necessary forms we need.
Service
Small Claims Hearings are scheduled no earlier than 20 days and no later than 70 days from the date that it is filed (CCP 116.330). At the time the hearing is scheduled, we recommend you request the maximum number of days allowable. The additional time is necessary to ensure service within the following time frames (CCP 116.340):
- IN COUNTY – If the defendant lives in the same county that the action was filed, the defendant must be personally served at least 15 days prior to the court date. For substituted service, the documents must served at least 25 days prior to the hearing.
- OUT OF COUNTY – If the defendant lives in a county other than where the hearing was ordered, the defendant must be personally served at least 20 days prior to the court date. For substituted service, the documents must be served at least 30 days prior to the hearing.
- Fee payment of $50 must be provided to us for service.
For instructions, please click here.
Alternatives to personal service
It is our policy to use substituted service when we are unable to serve the defendant personally. This allows us to serve a competent adult living at or in charge of the residence, business, or location where the defendant regularly receives mail. When substituted service is used, we will mail a copy of the documents to the defendant at the location of the substituted service [CCP 415.20 (A) and (B)]
An established P.O. Box with the U.S. Postal Service is exempt from substituted service. If this is the only address you have, the court may serve the claim via certified mail [CCP 116.330, sub-section (b)(1)].