Answer

Hello,

First, send your client a letter by certified mail, demanding that the money be paid by a certain date. You can write the letter yourself or have an attorney do it for you (attorneys typically don't charge much for doing this).

If the demand letter doesn't bring results, depending on what state you're in, you may be able to file a small claims action against the client to recover your money. Each state has a monetary jurisdictional limit (i.e., maximum amount of money that can be recovered) for small claims actions. Here is a link to an article about small claims actions from the nolo.com website, that contains state-specific information about small claims cases:

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/ADF1FA1B-C67D-4B95-AD615532C3AE0862/104/308/273/ART/

If you are above your state's limit for small claims cases, you can consider filing an action in civil court to recover the money. You can file the case yourself, but keep in mind that the rules (evidentiary, procedural, etc.) in civil court are not as relaxed as they are in small claims court, so you may want to consider hiring an attorney to file the claim for you.

Either way, if you file and win your court case, you will be awarded a judgment through which you can collect the money that the client owes you.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Juliana