Notice of Examination:

Question: How do I properly complete the Notice of Examination (Form 20H) for a debtor examination hearing in Small Claims Court, and what other forms should I prepare?

Answer: Freed Legal Services can help you prepare the Notice of Examination (Form 20H) correctly for a debtor examination hearing in Small Claims Court, including fixing a common typographical nuance where the document should label the parties in a way that reflects the parties named as Plaintiffs or Defendants in the underlying litigation, and ensuring the proceeding title matches what appeared in the court documents from that case.  Beyond that, Form 20H typically requires information you can obtain from the Court Clerk, such as the proposed hearing date and the remaining judgment amount plus interest, which you may also find reflected in the Affidavit for Enforcement Request (Form 20P).  If the person to be examined is the Debtor, you should also have the Debtor complete the Financial Information Form (Form 20I) and bring it with supporting documents to the hearing, and while the Debtor usually does not need the Creditor to prepare Form 20I, it can help to include a brief covering letter stressing that the Financial Information Form (Form 20I) must be fully completed and brought to the hearing.  To get practical document help and avoid costly mistakes, call (800) 716-1897 today.

Preparation of Documents

Completing the Notice of Examination (Form 20H) document is straightforward; however, there document does have a typographical glitch that creates a nuance whereas the words, “Creditor” and “Debtor” appear.  These fields should be labelled in a manner that indicates the requirement to name all of the parties that were Plaintiffs or Defendants within the litigation from which the Judgment arose; and accordingly, the title of proceeding upon the Notice of Examination (Form 20H) document should read the same as the title of proceeding was shown within any other document during the litigation.  Aside from this apparent glitch, the Notice of Examination (Form 20H) merely requires information that is readily available from the Court Clerk, such as the proposed date of the debtor examination hearing as well as the amount of the Judgment, plus interest, that remains due.  This amount will be known whereas such is contained within the Affidavit for Enforcement Request (Form 20P) as discussed elsewhere.

Where the person that will be examined is the Debtor, in addition to the Notice of Examination (Form 20H), a Financial Information Form (Form 20I) is also required.  The Debtor is to complete the Financial Information Form (Form 20I); and accordingly, the document is without any preparation required by the Creditor, or representative of the Creditor; however, it is wise to include a covering letter that emphasizes the need to fully complete and bring the completed Financial Information Form (Form 20I) with all supporting documents to the debtor examination hearing.