This page explains New York law. Enforcement papers arrive from different directions: the creditor's attorney, a bank, an employer, a sheriff, sometimes another state's court. The fastest way to see the whole picture is to put everything in one folder before a first meeting with KOR Law LLP's post-judgment defense team, and to keep every envelope, because several deadlines run from a postmark or a delivery date rather than from the date printed on the paper.

Which papers set your deadlines?

Enforcement papers and the clocks they start (New York CPLR)
PaperWhy it mattersRule
The judgment and any written notice of its entry served on youA motion to vacate for excusable default must be made within one year after service of the judgment with notice of entry; an appeal as of right within 30 days after that serviceCPLR 5015(a)(1), 5513(a)
Restraining notice, exemption notice and claim forms from your bank, with the bank's envelopeThe claim form goes back to the bank and the creditor's attorney within 20 days of the postmark on the bank's envelopeCPLR 5222-a
Information subpoena with written questionsAnswers are due within seven days after receiptCPLR 5224(a)
Subpoena to testify or produce books and papersAt least 10 days' notice unless the court orders shorter noticeCPLR 5224(c)
Income execution served by the sheriffIf installments are not paid for 20 days, the sheriff can levy on your pay through your employerCPLR 5231(d), (e)
Notice of petition for turnoverServed at least eight days before the hearing; an answer is due at least two days before it, or seven days if the notice was served at least twelve days ahead and demands itCPLR 403(b)
Notice that a judgment from another state was filed in New YorkExecution proceeds cannot be paid to the creditor until 30 days after proof of that notice is filedCPLR 5403
Notice of a sheriff's sale of real propertyServed at least 30 days before the sale; the sale falls between the 56th and 63rd day after first publicationCPLR 5236

If a bank account is already frozen, the exemption claim is usually the first deadline; the steps are in what to do when a restraining notice freezes your New York bank account. If written questions have arrived, see whether you have to answer an information subpoena. If a petition asks the court to order money or property handed over, read how a turnover proceeding works before the hearing date.

What should you bring about the judgment itself?

  • The court, the index number, the date the judgment was entered and the amount.
  • The interest rate on the judgment. Under a 2021 amendment, a judgment in a consumer debt action against an individual carries 2% a year rather than 9% (CPLR 5004).
  • Whether you ever received the summons, and if so how and when. If you did not, the court file's affidavit of service shows what the process server claimed, which matters for a motion to vacate. The court system's CourtHelp guide advises asking the court clerk for a copy of it.
  • The date you first learned of the judgment. For someone who was not served personally, the time to defend under CPLR 317 runs one year from learning of the judgment, and no more than five years from its entry.
  • Where the judgment came from. A judgment from another state can be filed with a New York county clerk unless it was entered by default in appearance or by confession, as explained in how out-of-state and federal judgments are enforced in New York.
  • Any payments you made, settlement letters, and any satisfaction-piece already filed (CPLR 5020). Payments also matter to the judgment's life: a money judgment is presumed paid twenty years after the creditor could first enforce it, but that presumption is not conclusive against someone who paid part of it or acknowledged the debt within those twenty years (CPLR 211(b)).

If the judgment was entered by default, the grounds for undoing it are in whether you can undo a default judgment in New York.

How do you show that money is exempt?

The exemption claim form that comes with a bank restraint lists the kinds of proof that help: an award letter from the government, an annual pension statement, pay stubs, copies of checks, and bank records showing the last two months of account activity (CPLR 5222-a). The form itself lists the categories you can check, including Social Security, veterans benefits, unemployment insurance, pension and retirement payments, child support, and income earned in the last 60 days, 90% of which is exempt. Bring the same papers to a first meeting, along with:

  • statements for retirement accounts and plans, which CPLR 5205(c) generally treats as exempt, with limited exceptions;
  • recent pay stubs, because an income execution may take no more than 10% of the income it reaches and never more than 25% of weekly disposable earnings (CPLR 5231(b));
  • a copy of any exemption claim form you already sent, with the date and the way you sent it, since the bank releases the funds eight days after the postmark on the form unless the creditor objects by motion in that time (CPLR 5222-a(c)(3), (d)); and
  • a list of every account in your name, joint accounts included, and whose money is in each.

The full wage rules, including the weekly floor tied to the minimum wage, are in how much of your wages a creditor can take in New York.

What should you bring about your home and other property?

How you hold title can decide whether a creditor can reach the property at all. Bring the deed, or for a co-op the stock certificate and proprietary lease, and check the names and wording:

  • A deed of real property to a husband and wife creates a tenancy by the entirety unless it says otherwise (EPTL 6-2.2(b)). For co-op shares and the proprietary lease, the same rule applies to transfers made on or after January 1, 1996 (EPTL 6-2.2(c)).
  • A deed to two people who were not legally married but are described as spouses creates a joint tenancy, not a tenancy by the entirety (EPTL 6-2.2(d)).
  • Mortgage statements and any recent appraisal, because the homestead exemption protects equity above liens up to a county amount, $204,825 in the New York City counties under the current Department of Financial Services figures (CPLR 5206(a)).
  • Proof that the property is your principal residence, since the homestead exemption depends on it (CPLR 5206(a)).
  • Any contract of sale or refinance commitment. A judgment docketed with the clerk of the county where the property sits binds it until ten years after the judgment-roll was filed (CPLR 5203(a)).

Why the entirety question matters when only one spouse owes the judgment is explained in whether a creditor of one spouse can force the sale of a home owned by the entirety. Co-op owners should also read how the homestead exemption applies to a co-op. If a closing is coming up, see whether you can sell or refinance with a judgment lien on the property. If property that was levied belongs to a business, a relative or anyone else, bring the papers that show who owns it; ownership disputes are decided in a separate proceeding under CPLR 5239.

What should you write down before the meeting?

A one-page timeline helps more than a stack of loose papers: when the original debt arose, when you were sued, when you learned of the judgment, each notice you received and its postmark, and anything you have already sent back. Note the names of any bank, employer or other person who told you they received papers from the creditor, because each of them may be holding money or property under a restraint.

What changes the answer for your meeting?

  • How the summons reached you. Someone not served by personal delivery may be allowed to defend within one year after learning of the judgment, and no more than five years after entry, if the court finds the person did not personally receive notice in time and has a meritorious defense (CPLR 317).
  • Who the creditor is. The bank exemption claim procedure does not apply when the creditor is the state, a state agency or a municipal corporation, or when the debt is for child or spousal support, maintenance or alimony, if the restraining notice carries the required legend (CPLR 5222-a(i)).
  • What the debt was for. No amount may be taken by income execution on a judgment from a medical debt action brought by a licensed hospital or health care professional (CPLR 5231(b)).
  • How your benefits are paid. If exempt payments were deposited directly into the account in the 45 days before the bank was served, the bank may not restrain $2,500 of it (CPLR 5222(h)).
  • Whether the creditor repeated a step. Leave of court is required for a second restraining notice to the same person on the same judgment (CPLR 5222(c)) and for a second examination of you within a year (CPLR 5224(f)). When collection crosses those lines, a court can step in; see whether a court can limit or stop a creditor's collection efforts.

For example: building the folder in one week

For example, imagine a home health aide in Brooklyn who has never heard of the lawsuit behind a judgment against her. (This is a made-up illustration, not a real client or result.) On May 6 an information subpoena arrives by certified mail. On May 8 her bank's envelope, postmarked May 7, brings a restraining notice, an exemption notice and two claim forms. She writes the clocks on the front of a folder: answers to the information subpoena are due May 13, seven days after receipt, and the claim forms must go out by May 27, 20 days after the May 7 postmark.

Most of the frozen money is pay from the last two months, a category the claim form lists as income earned in the last 60 days. She prints two months of statements and her pay stubs for the claim. She also asks the court clerk for the affidavit of service, which says the papers were left at an apartment she moved out of two years earlier. Because she was not served personally, CPLR 317 may let her defend within a year of learning of the judgment if a court makes the findings it requires. To the meeting she brings the subpoena, the bank envelope and forms, the statements and stubs, her old and new leases, and the affidavit of service.

Common mistakes when preparing

  • Throwing away envelopes. The exemption claim clock runs from the postmark on the bank's envelope, not from the date on the notice (CPLR 5222-a(c)(1)).
  • Waiting for the meeting to act. The seven-day answer period for an information subpoena and the 20-day exemption window keep running while you gather papers, and disobeying a subpoena is punishable as contempt (CPLR 5251).
  • Bringing only the latest notice. Earlier notices show whether the creditor served a second restraining notice without leave of court (CPLR 5222(c)).
  • Leaving out joint accounts. Whose money sits in an account matters, and a co-owner's claim to restrained money is decided in a CPLR 5239 proceeding.
  • Assuming a home in two names is protected. Only spouses take by the entirety; a deed to unmarried people described as spouses creates a joint tenancy (EPTL 6-2.2(d)).

What to do this week

  1. Put every enforcement paper and its envelope in one folder, oldest first, and write each postmark on the outside.
  2. Mark the short deadlines: seven days for an information subpoena, 20 days for exemption claim forms, and any deposition or hearing date.
  3. Ask the court clerk for a copy of the affidavit of service if you do not remember being served.
  4. Print two months of statements for every account, plus benefit award letters, pension statements and recent pay stubs.
  5. Find the deed or co-op papers, the latest mortgage statement and any sale or refinance papers.
  6. Write the one-page timeline and bring the folder to your consultation.

Frequently asked questions

What if I cannot find the court papers?

Bring what you have. The creditor files its papers, including the affidavit of service, with the court, and CourtHelp advises asking the court clerk for a copy of the affidavit of service.

Should I answer the information subpoena before the meeting?

Answers are due within seven days after receipt (CPLR 5224(a)), and refusing or willfully neglecting to obey a subpoena is punishable as contempt (CPLR 5251). If the deadline falls before your meeting, raise it when you book the consultation so it can be addressed in time.

How long can a creditor keep collecting?

A money judgment is presumed paid twenty years after the creditor was first entitled to enforce it, subject to the payment and acknowledgment exception in CPLR 211(b). The lien on real property runs on a separate ten-year clock, which a court can extend only in limited cases (CPLR 5203(b)); see how long a judgment lasts in New York.

What if a foreclosure is also pending on my home?

Bring both sets of papers, because the deadlines run separately and the same property may be involved in each case. For the foreclosure side, use our foreclosure defense consultation checklist.

Does it matter where I live in New York City?

It can. For a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, enforcement proceedings go to the Civil Court when you live, work or regularly do business in the city; for a Supreme Court judgment, they go to a county where you live, work or do business (CPLR 5221(a)). For Brooklyn, see foreclosure and judgment defense for Brooklyn (Kings County) cases.

Can the creditor take money from a joint account?

A restraining notice reaches property in which the debtor has an interest (CPLR 5222(b)), so a joint account in which the debtor has an interest can be restrained. A co-owner who claims the money can bring a proceeding to decide who owns it before a sheriff or receiver applies it to the judgment (CPLR 5239).