Steps to Revive a Dormant Judgment: Filing a Motion: The creditor must file a motion to revive the dormant judgment in the court where the original judgment was issued. This motion should include details of the original judgment, the fact that it has become dormant, and a request for its revival.
Paying Without Formal Garnishment With your demand letter or notice, you will get a form titled “Payment to Avoid Garnishment.” Complete the form and return it to the creditor within 15 days and you can make periodic payments without having to go through the formal garnishment process.
Regardless of whether any payments are made, your judgment does not last forever. In Ohio, judgments go “dormant” in 5 years after the latter of: (a) when the judgment was issued, or (b) the last time it was used to create a lien, generate a seizure, obtain a garnishment order, or any other similar effort.
The conditional order generally states that unless "sufficient cause be shown to the contrary within - days, the judgment shall stand revived." At the end of the specified time, if the party against whom revivor is sought, has not shown "sufficient cause," the condition goes unfulfilled, and the judgment will stand ...
The Judgment Creditor (the person who has the judgment) may file a motion to revive the judgment any time within ten (10) years after the judgment becomes dormant. If the court grants the motion the judgment is revived and the Judgment Creditor can take steps to collect the judgment.
This means that although Ohio's statute of limitations for judgment enforcement is at least fifteen years, in reality the best practice is to act at least once every five years so that your judgment does not become dormant. Often judgments are against more than one judgment debtor.
And some states also allow judgment liens on the debtor's personal property -- things like jewelry, art, antiques, and other valuables. In Ohio, a judgment lien can be attached to real estate only (such as a house, land, or similar property interest).