Texas Writs of Garnishment to Collect Judgment Liens from Childress County, Texas
Busby & Associates is a law firm that is skilled in defending, collecting, and enforcing judgments. While our primary focus is on garnishing bank accounts and financial institutions, we also offer legal services for consumer bankruptcy, family law, and divorce matters. Our team can assist both obligors and obligees with child support lien collections and defense, and domesticating foreign child support liens in Childress County, Texas. If you’re a judgment creditor who is having difficulty collecting from a debtor in Childress County, Texas, contact us, and we’ll provide you with the support you need to recover your judgment.
Texas Judgment liens in Childress County
Creating a lien on all nonexempt real property owned by the judgment debtor in Childress County requires properly recording and indexing an abstract of judgment. The abstract of judgment must be filed in every county where the debtor has property to fix the lien. The lien remains valid for ten years from the date of recordation and indexing, provided that the judgment does not become 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 even 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
Understanding the rules for abstracting a judgment in Texas is important. Typically, 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, with the exception of small claims and justice courts, where the judgment creditor is not allowed to prepare their own abstract. It’s also important to note that abstracts of federal court judgments require certification from the clerk of the court. For those seeking to abstract their judgment lien in Childress County, Texas, the County Clerk’s office is located at 100 Ave E NW, Childress, Texas 79201.
Contents
An abstract of judgment in Texas must contain specific details to be valid. These details include 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. Omitting the mailing address will result in a penalty filing fee. Unverified declarations are not permitted.
Recordation of Judgment Liens Abstract
To ensure the validity of the judgment, it is necessary to record the abstract in Childress County, particularly if the debtor has real property there. The Childress County clerk receives the abstract and documents it in the county’s real property records, specifying the date and time of recording. Additionally, the clerk must 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.
Under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act and the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act, foreign judgments can be enforced in a way that is similar to judgments filed in the court where they originated. To domesticate the judgment in Texas, the foreign judgment holder must satisfy the lien requirements.
Property To Which Lien Attaches Non-Exempt Real Property
The county of recordation, Childress County, is where the judgment lien attaches to all nonexempt real property owned by the defendant.
Keeping the Judgment and Judgment Lien Alive
1. Non-governmental Judgments
The judgment lien will remain in effect for a period of 10 years following the date of recording and indexing the abstract, unless the judgment becomes dormant, which will cause the lien to cease. To keep the judgment lien active, two actions are necessary: (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 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.
A lien can be established for 20 years from the date of filing a properly filed abstract of judgment, and it can be renewed for an additional 20-year period by submitting a renewed abstract of judgment. It’s important to note that judgments made by the state or a state agency do not go dormant and remain enforceable throughout the lien’s life.
3. Political Subdivisions.
Political subdivisions’ judgments may become dormant due to dormancy statutes, but the revival statute, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006, allows the political subdivision to revive the judgment at any time. Thus, the statute of limitations will not prevent the political subdivision from reviving the judgment, even beyond the two-year dormancy period.
4. Child Support Judgments.
All child support judgments are covered by the provision in Subsection (c) of § 34.001 of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code, which excludes them from the dormancy statute, and this applies to any such judgments, irrespective of their date of issuance.
Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.
1. Property Subject to Execution.
Execution can be used to seize the property of the judgment debtor unless it is exempted by the constitution, statute, or any other rule of law. Generally, the following kinds of property are not exempt: a. Cash on hand or in checking or savings accounts; b. Pleasure boats and their motors and trailers; c. Collections like 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.
Regardless of whether 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 various categories as defined by law, up to a fair market value of $100,000.00 for a family or $50,000.00 for a single adult who is not a member of a family; c) current wages for personal service (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 that the judgment debtor sold, mortgaged, or conveyed in trust if the purchaser, mortgagee, or trustee identifies 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, including retirement benefits and health savings plans; k) college savings plans; l) consigned artwork that meets specific qualifications.
WRITS OF GARNISHMENT.
In order to identify any outstanding debts owed by a third party to a judgment debtor, a judgment creditor may choose the post-judgment garnishment procedure. Upon discovery of any debts, the creditor (garnishor) can obtain a garnishment judgment, directing the third party (garnishee) to make payments to the garnishor instead of the debtor.
Requirements to Issue
To use garnishment after judgment, specific conditions must be met. Firstly, the creditor must hold a valid and subsisting judgment against the debtor, and the judgment is considered final and subsisting from the date of rendition. Secondly, the debtor cannot have filed an approved supersedeas bond to halt execution on the judgment. Finally, the creditor must affirm that, as far as they know, the debtor does not possess sufficient property in Texas that can be executed to fulfill the judgment.
Procedure for Securing Issuance Jurisdiction and parties
Remember that a post-judgment garnishment action is a separate legal proceeding from the main case it seeks to enforce. Since it is an additional lawsuit, the third-party garnishee should be named as the defendant. It must be filed in the same court that delivered the judgment to be collected, albeit with a different cause number.
Service of the writ of garnishment/notice to judgment debtor.
The garnishee must receive the writ of garnishment, and the judgment defendant is not a necessary party to the garnishment action. However, it is essential to provide the defendant with a copy of the writ, the application, accompanying affidavits, and court orders as soon as possible after serving the garnishee. The copy of the writ served to the defendant must clearly display the contents of the writ, using bold 12-point typeface, and in a manner that would be understood by a reasonably attentive person. Any judgment, other than one that dissolves the writ, will be considered invalid if the judgment debtor is not given notice of property.
Banks as Garnishees for Writs of Garnishment
In accordance with Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code, the address designated as the registered agent’s location in the financial institution’s registration statement must be used for delivering garnishment writs to banks. Out-of-state financial institutions must comply with state laws by designating an agent for process when submitting 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.
Filing a return that conforms to the citation rules is the responsibility of the officer executing a writ of garnishment. As per Tex. R. Civ. P. 663, the judgment creditor must carefully scrutinize the return before obtaining a garnishment judgment, especially if it is a default judgment. Returns in garnishment proceedings are subject to the same rules as citations in general. Courts have held returns to be invalid if they fail to indicate the method and location of service on a corporate garnishee.
Forms for the form and Practical Procedure
When a bank account or other debt that can be garnished is located and it is cost-effective to do so, an Application for Garnishment must be filed. This application must be supported by an affidavit signed by the judgment creditor’s attorney, which should include essential information such as the original suit and judgment details, the garnishee’s name and address, and any available account names and numbers.
If you have a judgment from Texas, Busby and Associates may be able to assist you in its collection on a contingency basis. However, for judgments from other states where the judgment debtor is in Texas, they will evaluate it on a case-by-case basis, and there may be a need for a retainer. If the judgment debtor and/or judgment is in Childress County, Busby and Associates can help you garnish a bank account or financial institution to recover the judgment amount.