Texas Writs of Garnishment to Collect Judgment Liens from Burnet County, Texas

If you’re seeking a law firm to defend, collect, and enforce judgments, look no further than Busby & Associates. Our primary focus is on garnishing bank accounts and financial institutions, but we also offer legal services for consumer bankruptcy, family law, and divorce matters. Our team can help both obligors and obligees with child support lien collections and defense, and domesticating foreign child support liens in Burnet County, Texas. If you’re a judgment creditor struggling to collect from a debtor in Burnet County, Texas, contact us, and we’ll provide the support you need to recover what you’re owed.

Texas Judgment liens in Burnet County

A lien on all nonexempt real property belonging to the judgment debtor in Burnet County can be established by properly recording and indexing an abstract of judgment. To fix the lien, the abstract of judgment must be filed in every county where the debtor has property. The lien continues for ten years from the date of recordation and indexing unless the judgment becomes dormant. The judgment on which the lien is based must be final and not interlocutory. However, even if the judgment is being appealed or a supersedeas bond has been filed, an abstract of judgment may still be filed. If a creditor establishes a lien before the appeal, the lien is not affected if the judgment is affirmed. These rules only apply to Texas state trial court judgments, and for the enforcement of judgments from other states and foreign countries, the judgment must first be domesticated in Texas before an abstract can be filed.

Texas Abstract of Judgment

In Texas, the preparation of abstracts of judgment for different types of courts can be confusing. Generally, the judge, justice of the peace, clerk of the court, judgment creditor, agent, attorney, or assignee can prepare the abstract for judgments rendered in most courts, except small claims and justice courts, where the judgment creditor is not allowed to prepare their own abstract. It’s worth noting that abstracts of federal court judgments require certification from the clerk of the court. In Burnet County, Texas, the County Clerk’s office at 220 S Pierce St # 1, Burnet, Texas 78611 is where you should go to abstract your judgment lien.

Contents

To properly document a judgment in Texas, certain information must be included in the abstract. This information includes the plaintiff and defendant names, defendant birthdate (if available), driver’s license and social security numbers (if available), suit number, defendant address or citation information, judgment date, balance due, child support arrearage (if any), and interest rate. The abstract must also include the mailing address for each plaintiff or creditor, and it must be verified by the creditor’s attorney. Unsworn declarations are not acceptable and may result in a penalty filing fee.

Recordation of Judgment Liens Abstract

In Burnet County, it is imperative to record the abstract of judgment if the debtor has any real estate holdings there. The clerk of Burnet County takes the abstract and records it in the county’s real property records. The clerk is obligated to document the date and time of the abstract’s recording. At the same time, the clerk must also include the abstract in the alphabetical index to the real property records. This index includes the names of both the plaintiff and defendant and the page number where the abstract is recorded.

Abstracts of Domesticated Judgment Liens.

The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act and the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act state that any judgment filed under these Acts can be enforced in the same way as judgments filed in the original court. The foreign judgment holder who wants to domesticate the judgment in Texas must comply with the lien requirements.

Property To Which Lien Attaches Non-Exempt Real Property

Burnet County, where the defendant’s nonexempt real property is recorded, is the county subject to the judgment lien.

Keeping the Judgment and Judgment Lien Alive

1.      Non-governmental Judgments

After a judgment is recorded and indexed, its associated lien will remain in effect for 10 years, unless the judgment becomes dormant, in which case the lien will terminate. To keep a judgment active, two actions must be taken: (1) keep the judgment valid and (2) obtain and record a new abstract of judgment. A judgment becomes dormant if no writ of execution is issued within a decade of its creation, but it can be revived through scire facias or a debt action within two years of dormancy.

2.      State or State Agency Judgments.

The state or a state agency’s judgments do not become dormant, and a lien can be created for 20 years from the filing date of a properly filed abstract of judgment. Furthermore, renewal of the lien for another 20 years can be accomplished by submitting a renewed abstract of judgment.

3.      Political Subdivisions.

The dormancy statutes may result in judgments of political subdivisions becoming dormant, but the revival statute, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006, permits the political subdivision to revive the judgment. As a result, the judgments of political subdivisions can be revived at any time, not just within the two-year dormancy period, as stated in the same section.

4.      Child Support Judgments.

All judgments for child support are excluded from the dormancy statute by Subsection (c) to § 34.001 of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code, and this provision applies to any child support judgments, regardless of when they were made.

Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.

1.      Property Subject to Execution.

The property of the debtor facing judgment can be seized through execution, provided it is not exempted by the constitution, statute, or any other rule of law. The following kinds of property are generally not exempt: a. Cash on hand or in savings or checking accounts; b. Pleasure boats, their motors, and trailers; c. Collections such as stamps or coins; d. Investments such as stocks, bonds, or notes; e. f. Airplanes. Corporations do not have any exempt property.

2.      Property Exempt from Execution.

When it comes to execution, the following categories of property are exempt for both families and single adults: a) the homestead; b) personal property of various categories specified by statute, up to an aggregate fair market value of $100,000.00 for a family or $50,000.00 for a single adult without family ties; c) current wages for personal service (excluding child support payments) and unpaid commissions for personal service, limited to 25% of the $50,000/$100,000 aggregate limit; d) health aids prescribed by a professional; e) worker’s compensation payments; f) cemetery lots held for the purpose of interring human remains; g) property sold, mortgaged, or conveyed in trust by the judgment debtor, where the purchaser, mortgagee, or trustee points out other property of the debtor sufficient to satisfy the execution; h) assets in the hands of the trustee of a spendthrift trust for the benefit of the judgment debtor; i) certain insurance benefits; j) specific savings plans, such as retirement benefits and health savings plans; k) college savings plans; l) consigned artwork that meets certain requirements.

WRITS OF GARNISHMENT

In order to ascertain if any money or property is owed by a third party to a judgment debtor, a judgment creditor may opt for a post-judgment garnishment. The creditor (garnishor) can then obtain a garnishment judgment, directing the third party (garnishee) to make payments to the garnishor instead of the debtor, if any funds or property are found to be owed.

Requirements to Issue

To garnish after judgment, certain conditions must be met. Firstly, the creditor must hold a valid and subsisting judgment against the debtor, with the judgment being considered final and subsisting from the date of rendition. Secondly, the debtor cannot have filed an approved supersedeas bond to suspend execution on the judgment. Lastly, the creditor must swear that, to the best of their knowledge, the debtor does not own sufficient property in Texas that can be executed to satisfy the judgment.

Procedure for Securing Issuance Jurisdiction and parties

A garnishment action after judgment is an autonomous legal suit from the primary cause it aims to enforce. It is subordinate to the original lawsuit and must specify the third-party garnishee as the defendant. It must be lodged in the same court that rendered the judgment to be collected, but with a distinct cause number.

Service of the writ of garnishment/notice to judgment debtor.

To implement the garnishment, the garnishee must be served with the writ of garnishment. While the judgment defendant is not a mandatory party, it is essential to give him or her a copy of the writ, application, affidavits, and court orders promptly after serving the garnishee. The copy of the writ served to the defendant must include the contents of the writ in bold 12-point typeface, in a way that is easy to understand. If the debtor does not receive notice of the property, the court will consider any judgment, other than one that dissolves the writ, invalid.

Banks as Garnishees for Writs of Garnishment

Banks must receive garnishment writs at the registered agent’s address provided in the financial institution’s registration statement, in compliance with Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code. Out-of-state financial institutions registering with the Secretary of State must designate an agent for process and follow state laws under Section 201.102. Texas financial institutions can appoint an agent for process by submitting a statement to the Secretary of State under Section 201.103.

Officer’s Return.

The officer responsible for executing a writ of garnishment must submit a return that conforms to the citation rules. Tex. R. Civ. P. 663 emphasizes that the judgment creditor should review the return before obtaining a garnishment judgment, particularly in default cases. The rules governing citations also apply to returns in garnishment proceedings. Courts have held returns to be fatally flawed if they fail to indicate the method and location of service on a corporate garnishee.

Forms for the form and Practical Procedure

When you find a bank account or other debt that can be subject to garnishment and determine that the funds involved justify the effort, you can file an Application for Garnishment. The application must be supported by an affidavit signed by the judgment creditor’s attorney, which should include relevant details such as the original suit and judgment information, the garnishee’s name and address for service, and any available account names and numbers.

Busby and Associates may be able to help you retrieve your judgment on a contingency basis if it’s from Texas. For judgments from other states with the judgment debtor in Texas, they will scrutinize it on a case-by-case basis, and there may be a requirement for a retainer. If the judgment debtor or judgment is located in Burnet County, Busby and Associates can support you in garnishing a bank account or financial institution.