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Carson County, Panhandle, Texas

Carson County

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

 

At Busby & Associates, we understand the importance of defending, collecting, and enforcing judgments for our clients. Our main focus is on garnishing bank accounts and financial institutions, but we also provide legal services for consumer bankruptcy, family law, and divorce matters. We can assist both obligors and obligees with child support lien collections and defense, and domesticating foreign child support liens in Carson County, Texas. If you’re a judgment creditor seeking to recover your judgment from a debtor living in Carson County, Texas, our team can help guide you through the process.

 

Texas Judgment liens in Carson County

A judgment creditor can create a lien on all nonexempt real property owned by the judgment debtor in Carson County by recording and indexing an abstract of judgment properly. The abstract of judgment must be filed in every county where the debtor has property to establish the lien. The lien continues for ten years from the date of recordation and indexing, subject to the judgment not becoming dormant. Only final judgments, not interlocutory ones, can form the basis of a lien. However, an abstract of judgment can still be filed if the judgment is being appealed or a supersedeas bond has been filed. If the creditor establishes a lien before the appeal, the lien remains valid in the event of affirmation. 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

When dealing with judgments in Texas, it’s important to follow the rules regarding abstracts of judgment. 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. However, the judgment creditor is not permitted to prepare their own abstract in small claims and justice courts. Additionally, abstracts of federal court judgments require certification from the clerk of the court. Those needing to abstract a judgment lien in Carson County, Texas can do so at the County Clerk’s office located at 501 Main St, Panhandle, Texas 79068.

 

Contents

To produce a valid abstract of judgment in Texas, it must contain certain information. This information includes the names of the plaintiff and defendant, the defendant’s birthdate (if available), the defendant’s driver’s license and social security numbers (if available), the suit number, the defendant’s address or citation information, the date the judgment was rendered, the amount of the judgment and balance due, any child support arrearage, and the 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. Failure to include the mailing address will result in a penalty filing fee. Unverified declarations are not acceptable.

 

Recordation of Judgment Liens Abstract

To ensure the validity of the judgment, it is crucial to record the abstract in Carson County, especially if the debtor has real property there. The Carson County clerk receives the abstract and records it in the county’s real property records, noting the exact date and time of recording. Additionally, the clerk is mandated to enter the abstract in the alphabetical index to the real property records, displaying 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 provide that foreign judgments filed under these Acts can be enforced in a similar way to judgments in the court where they were filed. In Texas, the foreign judgment holder must comply with the lien requirements to domesticate the judgment.

 

Property To Which Lien Attaches Non-Exempt Real Property

The county of recordation, Carson County, is where the judgment lien takes effect on all nonexempt real property owned by the defendant.

Keeping the Judgment and Judgment Lien Alive

1.      Non-governmental Judgments

A judgment lien remains valid for 10 years following the recording and indexing of an abstract, unless the judgment becomes dormant, which will terminate the lien. To ensure that the judgment lien remains active, two steps are necessary: (1) maintain the judgment’s validity and (2) obtain and record a new abstract of judgment. A judgment becomes dormant if no writ of execution is issued within 10 years 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.

Judgments made by the state or its agencies do not become dormant, which means they stay active and enforceable. In addition, a valid abstract of judgment can create a lien that lasts for 20 years from the filing date, and the lien’s life can be extended for another 20 years by submitting a renewed abstract of judgment.

 

3.      Political Subdivisions.

While dormancy statutes may cause political subdivisions’ judgments to go dormant, the revival statute, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006, allows the political subdivision to revive the judgment. Consequently, the political subdivision can revive the judgment at any time, not just within the two-year dormancy period, as stated in the same section.

 

4.      Child Support Judgments.

The dormancy statute does not apply to child support judgments, thanks to the exemption granted to them under Subsection (c) of § 34.001 of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code, which is effective for all such judgments.

Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.

1.      Property Subject to Execution.

Execution may seize the property of the judgment debtor, if it is not exempted by the constitution, statute, or any other rule of law. In most instances, the following categories of property are not exempt: a. Cash on hand or in savings or checking accounts; b. Pleasure boats and their motors and trailers; c. Collectibles like stamps or coins; d. Investments such as stocks, bonds, or notes; e. f. Airplanes. Exempt property is not available to corporations.

2.      Property Exempt from Execution.

No matter if the debtor is a family or a single adult, certain property categories are exempt from execution, which includes: a) the homestead; b) personal property of different categories defined by statute, with an aggregate fair market value of $100,000.00 for a family or $50,000.00 for a single adult without family connections; c) current wages for personal services (excluding child support payments) and unpaid commissions for personal services, limited to 25% of the $50,000/$100,000 aggregate limit; d) professionally prescribed health aids; e) worker’s compensation payments; f) cemetery lots held for sepulcher purposes; g) property sold, mortgaged, or conveyed in trust by the judgment debtor, provided that the purchaser, mortgagee, or trustee can identify other property of the debtor that will satisfy the judgment; h) assets in the hands of the trustee of a spendthrift trust for the benefit of the judgment debtor; i) certain insurance benefits; j) certain savings plans, including retirement benefits and health savings plans; k) college savings plans; l) certain consigned artwork.

Carson County

WRITS OF GARNISHMENT.

A post-judgment garnishment is a process available to a judgment creditor to investigate if there are any debts owed by a third party to the judgment debtor. If any debts are found, the creditor (garnishor) can obtain a garnishment judgment, which orders the third party (garnishee) to make payments to the garnishor instead of the debtor.

Requirements to Issue

After obtaining a judgment, garnishment is an option only if specific conditions exist. Firstly, the creditor must possess a valid and subsisting judgment against the debtor, and the judgment is considered final and subsisting from the date of rendition. Secondly, the debtor must not have filed an approved supersedeas bond to stop execution on the judgment. Lastly, the creditor must attest that, to their knowledge, the debtor does not have enough property in Texas that can be executed to fulfill the judgment.

Procedure for Securing Issuance Jurisdiction and parties

A post-judgment garnishment action is a separate legal suit from the main case it intends to enforce. Since it is supplementary to the primary lawsuit, the third-party garnishee should be named as the defendant. It must be submitted in the same court that rendered the judgment to be collected, but with a different cause number.

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

To initiate the garnishment, the garnishee must be served with the writ of garnishment, and the judgment defendant is not a necessary participant. Nonetheless, it is essential to provide the defendant with a copy of the writ, application, affidavits, and court orders soon after the garnishee has been served. The copy of the writ served to the defendant must present the contents of the writ in a clear and conspicuous manner, using bold 12-point typeface. Any judgment, except for one that dissolves the writ, will be deemed invalid if the debtor is not given property notice.

 

Banks as Garnishees for Writs of Garnishment

To deliver garnishment writs to banks, the registered agent’s address specified in the financial institution’s registration statement must be utilized, as outlined by Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code. Out-of-state financial institutions must comply with state laws by designating an agent for process when filing a registration application with the Secretary of State under Section 201.102. Texas financial institutions may appoint an agent for process by filing a statement with the Secretary of State under Section 201.103.

 

Officer’s Return.

The officer responsible for executing a writ of garnishment must file a return that conforms to the citation rules. Tex. R. Civ. P. 663 states that the judgment creditor should carefully review the return before obtaining a garnishment judgment, particularly if it is a default judgment. Returns in garnishment proceedings are subject to the same rules as citations in general. Courts have rejected returns that do not specify how a corporate garnishee was served and where the service took place.

 

Forms for the form and Practical Procedure

When a bank account or other debt that can be subjected to garnishment is located and it is deemed cost-effective, an Application for Garnishment must be filed, accompanied by a supporting affidavit signed by the judgment creditor’s attorney. The affidavit should contain relevant information, including the original suit and judgment details, the garnishee’s name and address, and any available account names and numbers.

Busby and Associates have the potential to assist you in collecting your judgment on a contingency basis if it’s from Texas. For judgments from other states where the judgment debtor is in Texas, they will assess it on a case-by-case basis, and a retainer may be necessary. If the judgment debtor and/or judgment is located in Carson County, Busby and Associates can help you garnish a bank account or financial institution to recover the judgment amount.

 

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Michael Busby is a Houston divorce lawyer who has been in practice for over 20 years and appears daily in the Family Law Courts of Harris County and Fort Bend County Texas

Busby & Associates , have two Houston Offices, one in Chinatown, Houston Texas and another in Independent Heights, Houston, Texas. Michael Busby is Board Certified in Family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.