Precautionary measures and judicial securities
Your rights have been abused, and you think that only a court decision would allow you to take action against your debtor? That is not the case.
Precautionary measures may be taken before any legal action is taken to protect you from any concealment of assets, as soon as you are in possession of a written lease agreement for which the rent has not been paid, an unpaid cheque, or a court decision that is not enforceable. Failing this, protective measures may also be authorized by the judge. Do not hesitate to contact us to find out how to proceed.
There are two types of provisional measures. The most active consist in making certain assets of the debtor unavailable and thus avoiding that he organizes his insolvency for the time of the lawsuit. These are protective seizures.
The second type of action is more long-term, and consists of registering a security interest, such as a mortgage, on property owned by your debtor.
Conservatory seizures
They may relate to sums held in a bank account or to movable property, whether held by the debtor or by a third party, even in a safe deposit box.
Likewise, intangible rights such as securities (shares, bonds), or partnership rights (shares in a company) may be seized as a precautionary measure.
Special property does not escape the scope of precautionary seizures either, for example, boats, ships or aircraft can be apprehended as a precautionary measure.
Judicial securities
Often little known, some of them were introduced into our law by a law of 1955, and have since been renovated to improve their effectiveness.
Once the security interest is registered, you become a preferred creditor, and you will be paid in priority over the sale price, in competition with other preferred creditors, but far ahead of those who have not taken the precaution of registering (unsecured creditors).
The main legal securities are as follows:
The judicial mortgage, allows to register a security on a real estate property. It will be valid for three or ten years depending on the case. Its effectiveness lies in the rights it gives you, right of pursuit and right of preference. The first allows you to pursue the property even if it has been sold to a third party, the second is the consequence of your status as a preferred creditor and puts you in a better position to be paid.
A Pledge is a security interest in a business, shares or securities that your debtor may own. It is also valid for three or ten years, under the same conditions as the legal mortgage.
Finally, whether it is a mortgage or a pledge, as soon as their registration is final, you will be paid in priority, according to your rank.
As the field of precautionary measures is vast, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice that is closest to your interests, and thus preserve your rights.