Orders for Disclosure

        Minnesota Statutes, section 550.011, allows a judgment creditor to request of the district court an order requiring the debtor to provide the creditor with information regarding the “nature, account, identity of, and location of all of the debtors’ assets, liabilities, and personal earnings.” The order for disclosure is a valuable, low cost means of gathering information in the post-judgment stage, and is available after a judgment has been docketed for 30 days. Collection counsel should mail to the district court administrator a completed request for order for disclosure, accompanied by the required fee. An order for disclosure, along with a financial disclosure form, are then mailed by the district court administrator to the debtor. The debtor then has ten days to complete the financial disclosure form and return it to the creditor or creditor’s attorney. The financial disclosure form requires bank, assets, liabilities, and place of employment information. Failure to return the completed financial disclosure form within ten days may subject the debtor to contempt of court proceedings, similar to the debtor’s failure to obey a subpoena or order in supplementary proceedings. Costs for both the order for disclosure and enforcement of same vary from one district court to another.

Seminar Article By: John A. Halpern