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

Busby & Associates is a law firm that is skilled in defending, collecting, and enforcing judgments. 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. We can assist both obligors and obligees with child support lien collections and defense, and domesticating foreign child support liens in Coleman County, Texas. If you’re a judgment creditor who is struggling to recover your judgment from a debtor in Coleman County, Texas, contact us, and we’ll work with you to achieve a successful outcome.

Texas Judgment liens in Coleman County

Proper recording and indexing of an abstract of judgment can create a lien on all nonexempt real property owned by the judgment debtor in Coleman County. The abstract must be filed in every county where the debtor has property to establish the lien. The lien remains valid 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 even if the judgment is affirmed. These rules apply solely to Texas state trial court judgments. For 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

To abstract a judgment in Texas, you must follow specific regulations. Usually, 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 for small claims and justice courts where the judgment creditor is not permitted to prepare their own abstract. It is important to remember that abstracts of federal court judgments require certification from the clerk of the court. If you need to abstract your judgment lien in Coleman County, Texas, the County Clerk’s office can assist you. It is located at 100 W Live Oak St #105, Coleman, Texas 76834.

Contents

When preparing a Texas abstract of judgment, certain details must be included to make it valid. These details are the names of the plaintiff and defendant, the defendant’s birthdate (if known to the clerk of justice), 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 contain the mailing address for each plaintiff or judgment creditor and be verified by the creditor’s attorney. If the mailing address is not included, a penalty filing fee will be charged. Unverified declarations are not allowed.

Recordation of Judgment Liens Abstract

The abstract of judgment should be recorded in Coleman County for debtors who own real property there. The Coleman County clerk receives the abstract and records it in the county’s real property records, mentioning 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.

The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act and the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act make it possible for foreign judgments to be enforced like local judgments. The foreign judgment holder who wishes to domesticate the judgment in Texas must comply with the lien requirements.

Property To Which Lien Attaches Non-Exempt Real Property

The county of recordation, Coleman 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 remains in effect for 10 years following the recording and indexing of an abstract, unless the judgment becomes dormant, in which case the lien will expire. To ensure 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.

Governmental or state agency’s judgments don’t become inactive, and a validly recorded abstract of judgment generates a lien that lasts for 20 years from the date of the filing. You can renew the lien for another 20-year period by filing a renewed abstract of judgment.

3.      Political Subdivisions.

Dormancy statutes may cause judgments of political subdivisions to go dormant, but the revival statute, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006, permits the political subdivision to revive the judgment at any time. Therefore, the statute of limitations will not prevent the political subdivision from reviving the judgment beyond the two-year dormancy period.

4.      Child Support Judgments.

Any child support judgments are exempted from the dormancy statute by Subsection (c) to § 34.001 of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code, and this applies to all such judgments, irrespective of their date of entry.

Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.

1.      Property Subject to Execution.

The property of the judgment debtor is subject to execution by levy, provided it is not exempted by the constitution, statute, or any other rule of law. Generally, the following types 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.

For both families and single adults, execution cannot be carried out on property belonging to certain categories, which include: 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 connections; c) current wages for personal service (excluding child support payments) and unpaid commissions for personal services, not exceeding 25% of the $50,000/$100,000 aggregate limitations; 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, if the purchaser, mortgagee, or trustee can identify 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) certain consigned artwork.

WRITS OF GARNISHMENT.

The garnishment proceedings require that the writ of garnishment be served on the garnishee, and the judgment defendant’s participation is not compulsory. However, the defendant must be served with a copy of the writ, application, affidavits, and court orders immediately after serving the garnishee. The copy of the writ served on the defendant must prominently display the contents of the writ, using bold 12-point typeface, and in a manner that would be understood by a reasonably attentive person. Failure to give the judgment debtor property notice renders any judgment, other than one dissolving the writ, invalid.

Requirements to Issue

Garnishment writs served on banks must be delivered to the address designated as the registered agent’s location in their financial institution registration statement, in accordance with Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code. Out-of-state financial institutions must designate an agent for process and comply with state laws 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.

Procedure for Securing Issuance Jurisdiction and parties

Remember that when filing for post-judgment garnishment, it is a separate legal action from the main case it intends to enforce. Since it is supplementary to the primary lawsuit, the third-party garnishee must be named as the defendant. It must be filed in the same court that issued the judgment to be collected, but with a different cause number.

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

The garnishee must be served with the writ of garnishment in a garnishment action, and the participation of the judgment defendant is not mandatory. However, the defendant must be given a copy of the writ, application, affidavits, and court orders as soon as practical after the garnishee has been served. The copy of the writ served to the defendant must contain the contents of the writ in bold 12-point typeface and in a way that is understandable by a reasonably attentive person. Failure to provide the judgment debtor with notice of property will result in any judgment, except one that dissolves the writ, being invalidated.

Banks as Garnishees for Writs of Garnishment

Compliance with Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code requires the delivery of garnishment writs to banks at the address mentioned as the registered agent’s location in the financial institution registration statement. Out-of-state financial institutions must submit a registration application to the Secretary of State by complying with the state’s foreign corporation laws, which includes designating an agent for process 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.

To comply with the citation rules, the officer executing a writ of garnishment must submit a return that satisfies the requirements. Tex. R. Civ. P. 663 highlights the need for the judgment creditor to carefully scrutinize the return before obtaining a garnishment judgment, especially if it is a default judgment. Returns in garnishment proceedings are governed by the same rules as citations in general. Courts have deemed returns to be fatally defective if they do not specify how a corporate garnishee was served and where the service took place.

Forms for the form and Practical Procedure

In order to garnish a bank account or other debt owed by the judgment debtor, you must first locate the account and determine that it is cost-effective to pursue. If it is, you must file an Application for Garnishment, along with an affidavit signed by the judgment creditor’s attorney, which should include relevant information such as the original suit and judgment details, the garnishee’s name and address for service, and any available account names and numbers.

If your judgment is from Texas, Busby and Associates may be able to help you collect it 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 a retainer may be necessary. If the judgment debtor and/or judgment is located in Coleman County, Busby and Associates can assist you in garnishing a bank account or financial institution to recover the judgment amount.