So, the adjudicator ruled in my favour against my abuser in small claims court in Nova Scotia. You can read more about what that means and how this is bittersweet in another one of my posts.

The Nova Scotia Legal Info Website makes it clear that “courts are not in the business of collection” (right at the bottom of this page). But who is then? And how do I get the money that is, now legally, owed to me?

There are multiple resources that are there to help me, and others, understand what needs to be done to enforce a small claims court order in Nova Scotia (PDF booklet produced by the courts, ‘After Court’ electronic guide on the legal info website, free legal clinics that vary on who they work with and the matters they deal with, small claims court act outlining the who in small claims court, court forms and procedures regulations outlining the what in small claims court). I have, at some point during this process, referred to them all.

The PDF booklet, the legal info website and the free legal clinics were the most useful for me. The court forms and procedures regulations were key for me understanding when I would need to pay something or submit a specific document/paperwork to get something started – except for when it came to enforcing my order. Once I got to this point (I won and needed to enforce this), I did not find that any of the above noted resources were ‘step-by-step’ enough for me to know what to actually do next (e.g., who to call, what form to complete, where to submit this form ….) I ended up taking a trial and error approach to figure out (a) what documents I needed to get, (b) where I needed to get these documents from, (c) who I needed to bring these documents to and (d) the cost of all of this. In essence, I would call or visit an office and have a confusing conversation with them about the fact that I had just won a small claims court process and needed to get my money. Needless to say, I found this time consuming.

***If you do not know who the debtor’s employer is, what specific bank branch they hold their accounts at or personal property they have that is owed to you or could be sold, there is little the authorities can do to enforce your order. I will talk about this at the end of this blog post if you want to scroll down to learn more.

So What Did I Do?

I read and re-read the PDF booklet produced by the courts what felt like a million times. Some of the addresses of Sheriff Offices and Court Offices are not up to date in the 2014 version that I was accessing. I would google search and phone offices in advance to make sure the office existed and I was going to the right place, I would recommend anyone enforcing an order to do the same thing.

I visited the ‘After Court’ electronic guide on the legal info website. This helped me understand that essentially, if the person owns property, you complete a certain set of forms to ‘put a lean’ on their property. This means if they sell it etc., you are entitled to get your money out of that sale. If the person does not own property, places you can get your money from is their employer, their bank or from seizing their assets.

If They Have Land

This was not the case for me or at least, if he owned property, it would have been in Ontario and not here, in Nova Scotia, where he is currently residing. This meant that I took the other option of seizing personal property (described below).

So, say they have property. Great. You will need to request some documents from the courthouse (in advance) to bring with you to the land registry office to file along with any forms they will have at the land registry office for you. I was able to send these requests via fax and email. Contact information for courts in Nova Scotia are here.

If you are not sure if they have property in Nova Scotia or not, you can visit the land registry office to search their database and find out. If you are doing this, you could also take this opportunity to confirm with them what forms you need then call the court to ask how to get them. I believe you will need a Certificate of Judgement and a Form 46 however I did not go this route.

If They Do Not Have Land

You still have to visit the land registry office however, the database you will be registering with is called the Personal Property Registry.

First, I made a request (via email) to receive a Certificate of Judgement and an Execution Order from the court house that my matter was heard at. It took about a month for me to receive these two documents. Contact information for courts in Nova Scotia are here.

Second, once I received these documents, I took them to the Land Registration Office. Make sure to call ahead – they are by appointment only. Do not forget to bring 2 pieces of government issued ID. I did not leave these documents there but needed them for reference to fill out paperwork at the Office in the Personal Property Registry. I was required to fill out the registry myself, on a computer in the Office. There was a worker who assisted me/supervised me but I was required to do the typing and reading. This is another reason I would encourage you to call ahead as I am not sure what their accessibility policies are or if you need to bring a friend or advocate to do this for you if you are not able to.

Third, I paid the fees and got three copies of my Verification Statement. Keep your receipts so these fees can be added to the amount the debtor (person who lost in the small claims court) owes you. In this case, my abuser.

Fourth, I took two copies of my Verification Statement and of my Enforcement Order, to the Sheriff’s Office (Halifax location, NS Sheriff Services) along with information about (a) who the debtor’s/my abuser’s employer is, (b) where they bank – the actual branch the account opened, not just the bank and (c) any information about assets that could be seized and sold to pay his debt to me (see the last page of the Enforcing a Small Claims Court Order PDF booklet that outlines what information the Sheriff needs).

Regardless of whether they have property or not, there are fees associated with filing and the land registry office and with asking the Sheriff to enforce an order. Keep these receipts Also, once you file, you are not done. You have to keep on top of it regularly and renew it. I suggest setting an event in your phone calendar to remind you a couple weeks before it’s expired …

I Do Not Know The Employer, The Bank Branch or Other Information

This is the shittiest part about all of this. If they do not own property and you do not know or have a way of finding out where this person that owes you money works (e.g. their employer), where they bank (and not just the bank, BMO, Scotiabank etc., but the actual branch location where they opened their account), you have no recourse to get your money back. The buck stops there unless there is someway you can find out this information and you are willing and able to pay the Sheriff fees to have them check out any leads on employers/banks you give them. You will have to pay the fee ( about $100) every time. They add this fee to the total amount you get back from the debtor but if there is no chance of you getting any money, consider it gone.

Oh If I Were The Government or a Corporation

Why am I expected to navigate a complex legal procedure, come up with money for fees, be able to get around town to a number of different offices and then, be told that I do not have enough information for a court order, a legal order, to be enforced?

Why is there not an office or a person that would have access to the same information that government, law enforcement and credit bureau corporations do (e.g. place of employment, ID numbers, contact numbers, places of residence associated with tax returns or drivers licenses or health cards)? This person/office could forward the employment or banking information of the debtor, along with my Enforcement Order and Verification Statement to the Sheriff’s Office. This way, I could properly enforce the order, not waste anyone’s time, and maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the debtor. It is not just the criminal justice system that favours the accused.

For all of you who take on this task of small claims court, I wish you luck and sanity.

Until next time.