When filing a Florida judgment, you may hear of a writ of execution. This writ is issued ten days after the court has documented your judgment. A writ of execution lets the sheriff seize property that belongs to the judgment debtor in order to follow through with the judgment. You must also obtain an “Instructions for Levy” form in order for the writ to do it’s job. This form is found with the sheriff’s office. Once this is done, it is time to get the writ and get the whole thing over with.

Before any property is sold, it’s important to check for any conflicting liens. Where can you do this? The Department of State’s website! Just head to www.sunbiz.com. As well as judgment liens, it is also good to see if UCC security interests have been documented under the judgment debtor’s name by creditors.

After checking for conflicts, give the sheriff a signed affidavit. On this affidavit, list the names, addresses, and filing dates of all those who have filed a UCC security interest of a judgment lien. These people must all be notified of the sale and it’s time and place.

Before a sheriff can attempt the levy anything, they must have these key things:

An appropriate notice is given within the approximate 30 days that the levied assets are in a warehouse. The plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney is responsible for sending out the notice of the sheriff’s levy to the debtor/defendant. Of that information is also the sheriff’s sale and affidavit of previous Florida judgment liens before the first day the sale is advertised. This notice will be advertised in a published county newspaper once a week for four weeks.

What happens to the property during the sale? An auction takes place where the sheriff will auction off all property; the assets will then belong to the highest bidder.