Winning a lawsuit produces a piece of paper that says someone owes you money. It does not produce money. This article explains what happens after the gavel: how judgments are actually collected, why most of them never are, and what a debtor can protect. It walks through post-judgment discovery, wage garnishment and the federal limits on it, bank levies, judgment liens against real property, and the writ of execution. It explains exemptions from the debtor's side — homestead, wages, retirement accounts, federal benefits, tools of trade — and why an account holding only Social Security is generally untouchable. It covers domesticating a judgment in another state and the fraudulent transfer rules that follow assets someone tried to move. It closes with candid guidance about when a judgment is worth pursuing and when it is not.