Texas Writs of Garnishment to Collect Judgment Liens from Bowie County
Busby & Associates is a law firm that can help judgment creditors who are facing challenges in collecting from a debtor in Bowie County. We specialize in all aspects of judgments, including defense, collection, and enforcement. Our main focus is on garnishing bank accounts and financial institutions, but we also provide assistance for consumer bankruptcy, family law, and divorce matters, for both obligors and obligees under child support liens. Additionally, we can assist with the domestication of foreign child support liens in the State of Texas. Give us a call and we’ll help you navigate the process and take action to collect your judgment when your debtor lives in Bowie County, Texas.
Texas Judgment liens
A judgment lien acts as a claim on the judgment debtor’s real property that is not exempt in Bowie County, the county of recordation. This lien is established by properly recording and indexing an abstract of judgment, which must be filed in each county where the lien is intended to be enforced. The lien remains in effect for a period of ten years from the date of recording and indexing, provided that the judgment does not become dormant. To be eligible to form a lien, the judgment must be final and not interlocutory. If a final judgment is being appealed, or a supersedeas bond has been filed, an abstract can still be filed. A judgment creditor who obtains a lien before the judgment is appealed will not lose the effect of such steps if the judgment is upheld on appeal. These rules apply only to judgments from Texas state trial courts, not to enforcements of judgments from other states or foreign countries. To create a lien for such judgments, it is first necessary to domesticate them in Texas, after which the judgment can be abstracted.
Texas Abstract of Judgment
In Texas, the responsibility of creating an abstract of judgment falls on either a judge, justice of the peace, clerk of the court, or the judgment creditor’s agent, attorney, or assignee, except for small claims and justice courts. In those courts, the judgment creditor is not permitted to prepare their own abstract. The certificate from the clerk of the court is essential for abstracts of federal court judgments and should be remembered. In Bowie County, Texas you would abstract your judgment lien at the County Clerk’s office located at 710 James Bowie Dr, New Boston, Texas 75570.
Contents
An abstract of judgment in Texas must show the following information to be deemed valid: (1) the names of the plaintiff and defendant; (2) the defendant’s birthdate, if known to the clerk of justice; (3) the final three digits of the defendant’s driver’s license number, if available; (4) the final three digits of the defendant’s social security number, if available; (5) the suit number in which the judgment was rendered; (6) the defendant’s address or, if not listed in the suit, the citation’s details and the date and location of service; (7) the date of judgment; (8) the amount of the judgment and the remaining balance; (9) any outstanding child support arrearage; (10) the interest rate specified in the judgment. Additionally, it is important to include the mailing address for each plaintiff or judgment creditor in the abstract or a penalty fee will be imposed. Furthermore, the abstract prepared by the creditor’s attorney must be verified and unsworn declarations are not acceptable.
Recordation
The county clerk must record the abstract of judgment in Bowie County (where the debtor owns real property). This process includes filing it in the Bowie County ‘s real property records, noting the date and time of recordation, and including the names of the plaintiffs and defendants in the judgment and the page number in the records in the alphabetical index of the real property records.
Abstracts of Domesticated Judgments.
Pursuant to the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act and the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act, foreign judgments are treated the same as if they were filed in the court where they were granted. This applies to the holder of the foreign judgment seeking to domesticate it in Texas, who must also comply with the lien requirements as per these acts.
Property to Which Lien Attaches Non-Exempt Real Property
The judgment lien attaches to all non-exempt real property in Bowie County, the county of recordation that the defendant owns.
Keeping the Judgment and Judgment Lien Alive
- Non-governmental Judgments
The lien resulting from a judgment remains in effect for 10 years after it is recorded and indexed, unless the judgment becomes dormant. To maintain the lien, it is necessary to both preserve the judgment and record a new abstract. A judgment is considered dormant if a writ of execution is not issued within 10 years of its rendition. The dormant judgment can be reactivated by filing an action of debt before the second anniversary of the judgment becoming dormant or by using scire facias.
- State or State Agency Judgments.
The validity of a judgment from a state or state agency remains intact and can be secured through a lien for 20 years from the date of filing an abstract of judgment. This lien can be extended for an additional 20 years by submitting a renewed abstract of judgment.
- Political Subdivisions.
Dormancy statutes suggest that judgments issued by political subdivisions may become inactive. However, the statute of limitations in Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006 does not apply to the revival of these judgments, meaning they can be reactivated at any time, regardless of the dormancy period.
- Child Support Judgments.
- 34.001 of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code’s Subsection (c) makes clear that judgments for child support are exempt from the dormancy statute, and applies to all child support judgments.
Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.
- Property Subject to Execution.
Execution can be used to collect on a judgment by seizing the property of the judgment debtor, unless it is protected by constitutional, statutory, or other legal exemptions. Typically, cash, pleasure boats, collections, financial investments, and airplanes are not considered exempt property. Corporations, however, have no property that is considered exempt from execution.
- Property Exempt from Execution.
Property that is protected from execution for both families and single adults includes: the primary residence, personal belongings with a value of up to $100,000 for families and $50,000 for single adults as outlined by statute, current wages earned for personal services (excluding child support payments), unpaid commissions for personal services not exceeding 25% of the $50/$100,000 aggregate limit, health aids prescribed by a professional, worker’s compensation payments, cemetery plots held for sepulcher, property that the judgment debtor sold, mortgaged, or conveyed in trust if the purchaser, mortgagee, or trustee can point out other property of the debtor sufficient to satisfy the execution, assets in the hands of a trustee of a spendthrift trust for the benefit of the judgment debtor, certain insurance benefits, certain savings plans such as retirement benefits and health savings plans, college savings plans, and consigned artwork.
WRITS OF GARNISHMENT
As a judgment creditor, you may use post-judgment garnishment to examine the relationship between the judgment debtor and a third party. This helps determine if the third party owes any funds or property to the judgment debtor. If so, the judgment creditor can secure a garnishment judgment that mandates the third party to pay the funds to the creditor instead of the judgment debtor.
Requirements to Issue
Garnishment can only be executed if the following conditions are met: a) The creditor holds a final and subsisting judgment against the debtor, b) The debtor has not taken steps to halt execution of the judgment through an approved supersedeas bond, and c) The creditor attests that the debtor does not possess sufficient property in Texas that can be used to pay off the judgment, to the best of their knowledge.
Procedure for Securing Issuance Jurisdiction and parties
Post-judgment garnishment is a distinct legal process from the main lawsuit it is enforcing. This supplementary action should be brought against the third-party garnishee as the defendant. The application for post-judgment garnishment should be filed in the same court where the judgment was rendered, under a different cause number. For example, if the original suit was filed in the 245th judicial district court of Bowie County, Texas, the garnishment action should also be filed in Bowie County.
Service of the writ of garnishment/notice to judgment debtor.
A post-judgment garnishment action is separate from the main lawsuit it is intended to enforce. The garnishment action is supplementary to the main suit and should be brought against the third-party garnishee as the defendant. The application for post-judgment garnishment must be submitted to the court that issued the judgment to be collected. If the original lawsuit was filed in the 245th judicial district court of Harris County, Texas, the garnishment application should be filed in that same court, but with a new cause number.
Banks as Garnishees
In compliance with Section 201.102 and 201.103 of the Finance Code, the address of the registered agent of a financial institution, as listed in its registration statement filed with the Secretary of State, must be used when serving writs of garnishment on garnishee banks. This applies to both out-of-state financial institutions, which must register with the Secretary of State and appoint an agent for the process, as well as Texas financial institutions, which may file a statement with the Secretary of State appointing an agent for the process.
Officer’s Return.
As outlined in Tex. R. Civ. P. 663, the officer charged with executing a writ of garnishment must file a return. Before obtaining a garnishment judgment, the judgment creditor should examine the return closely, particularly in cases of default judgment. The rules for citations also apply to returns in garnishment proceedings. In the past, returns have been deemed invalid for not mentioning the manner of service on a corporate garnishee and the place where it was served.
Forms for the form and Practical Procedure
Before a bank account or other debt can be garnished, it is important to locate the account and confirm that there are sufficient funds to make the process cost-effective. Once this is done, an Application for Garnishment must be filed along with a supporting affidavit. The affidavit, typically signed by the attorney representing the judgment creditor, should include the following information: a. Details of the original suit and judgment, including any credits applied to the judgment; b. Accurate garnishee name, authorized agents for service, and address for service, with c. any pertinent account names and numbers if feasible.
Busby and Associates can assist you in collecting your Texas judgment and can also help you garnish a bank account or financial institution within Bowie County, the county of the judgment debtor. Judgments from other states where the debtor is located in Texas will be evaluated case-by-case and a retainer may be required.
