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§ 720.650.When Third Person's Undertaking Becomes Effective

Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 4 · Chapter 6. Third-Party Undertaking to Release Property · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 720.650 says a third person's undertaking to release levied property doesn't take legal effect until the property it describes has been released under this chapter's procedure.

Full Text of § 720.650

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The third person's undertaking becomes effective when the property described therein is released pursuant to this chapter.

Plain-English Summary

This short section ties the third person's undertaking to a concrete event: release of the property. Posting the undertaking and having it accepted doesn't, by itself, make the undertaking binding — the undertaking becomes effective only once the levying officer releases the described property back out of levy under this chapter.

That sequencing matters because it fixes the moment the third person's surety exposure begins. Before release, the undertaking is just a filed document; after release, it's the security the judgment creditor can pursue if the third person's claim to the property turns out to be wrong. § 720.660 supplies the other half of the picture — the levying officer's duty to carry out that release once the objection period runs.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does a third person's undertaking under this chapter take effect?

Only when the property described in the undertaking is released under this chapter's procedure — not when the undertaking is merely filed.

Why does the effective date of the undertaking matter?

It marks the point where the third person's surety exposure on the undertaking begins, since the undertaking exists to protect the judgment creditor once the property is released back out of levy.

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: third party undertaking effective date california