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

At Busby & Associates, we are committed to providing our clients with legal services for defending, collecting, and enforcing judgments. Our focus is on garnishing bank accounts and financial institutions, but we also offer legal assistance for consumer bankruptcy, family law, and divorce matters. We can help both obligors and obligees with child support lien collections and defense, and domesticating foreign child support liens in Comal County, Texas. If you’re a judgment creditor who is struggling to recover your judgment from a debtor in Comal County, Texas, contact us, and we’ll work with you to develop a customized strategy to achieve your goals.

Texas Judgment liens in Comal County

A judgment creditor can place a lien on all nonexempt real property owned by the judgment debtor in Comal County by properly recording and indexing an abstract of judgment. The abstract must be filed in every county where the debtor owns property to establish the lien. If the judgment does not become dormant, the lien remains valid for ten years from the date of recordation and indexing. 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 exclusively 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

In Texas, abstracting a judgment requires following specific guidelines. 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 for small claims and justice courts where the judgment creditor is not allowed to prepare their own abstract. It is important to keep in mind that abstracts of federal court judgments require certification from the clerk of the court. If you need to abstract your judgment lien in Comal County, Texas, the County Clerk’s office is located at 150 N Seguin Ave, New Braunfels, Texas 78130.

Contents

In Texas, an abstract of judgment must contain specific details to be considered valid. These details are the names of the plaintiff and defendant, the defendant’s birthdate (if available 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 include the mailing address for each plaintiff or judgment creditor and be verified by the creditor’s attorney. A penalty filing fee will be imposed if the mailing address is missing. Unverified declarations are not acceptable.

Recordation of Judgment Liens Abstract

When the debtor has real property in Comal County, it is essential to document the abstract of judgment in the same county. The Comal County clerk receives the abstract and records it in the county’s real property records, noting the date and time of recording. Additionally, the clerk must enter the abstract in the alphabetical index to the real property records, showing the names of 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 enable foreign judgments to be enforced as local judgments. 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 judgment lien is applicable to all nonexempt real property owned by the defendant in Comal County, where it is recorded.

Keeping the Judgment and Judgment Lien Alive

1.      Non-governmental Judgments

After recording and indexing an abstract, the judgment lien continues for 10 years, unless the judgment becomes dormant, which will end the lien. To maintain the judgment lien, two steps must be taken: (1) keep the judgment active and (2) obtain and record a new abstract of judgment. A judgment becomes dormant if a writ of execution is not 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.

The state or its agency’s judgments remain in effect and do not become dormant. A properly recorded abstract of judgment generates a lien that lasts for 20 years from the date of registration, and the lien can be renewed for an additional 20-year period by filing a renewed abstract of judgment.

3.      Political Subdivisions.

Judgments of political subdivisions may go dormant under dormancy statutes, but the political subdivision can revive the judgment at any time using the revival statute, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006. This means that the statute of limitations will not prevent the political subdivision from reviving the judgment, even after the two-year dormancy period.

4.      Child Support Judgments.

Subsection (c) of § 34.001 of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code carves out an exemption for child support judgments from the dormancy statute, and this applies to all such judgments, regardless of when they were made.

Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.

1.      Property Subject to Execution.

In the absence of constitutional, statutory, or any other legal exemptions, the judgment debtor’s property can be subject to execution by levy. Usually, 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 such as stamps or coins; d. Investments like stocks, bonds, or notes; e. f. Airplanes. Corporations do not have any exempt property.

2.      Property Exempt from Execution.

Certain property categories are exempt from execution, regardless of whether the debtor is a family or a single adult, including: a) the homestead; b) personal property of various categories specified by statute, up to a 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, limited to 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 that satisfies the applicable criteria.

WRITS OF GARNISHMENT.

The garnishee must receive the writ of garnishment in a garnishment action, and the judgment defendant’s participation is not compulsory. However, the defendant must be given a copy of the writ, application, affidavits, and court orders as soon as practical after serving the garnishee. The copy of the writ served to the defendant must contain the contents of the writ in a clear and understandable manner, using bold 12-point typeface. Failure to provide the judgment debtor with notice of property will result in any judgment, except one that dissolves the writ, being voided.

Requirements to Issue

Banks must be served with garnishment writs at the address designated as the location of the registered agent of the financial institution in its registration statement filed with the Secretary of State under Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code. Out-of-state financial institutions must file an application for registration with the Secretary of State by fulfilling the laws of the state for foreign corporations doing business in the state, including the appointment of an agent for process. 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. The third-party garnishee must be identified as the defendant, as it is supplementary to the primary lawsuit. 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 judgment defendant’s involvement is not necessary. However, the defendant must be served with 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 include the contents of the writ in bold 12-point typeface and in a manner that is easily comprehensible to 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

To serve garnishment writs on banks, the address mentioned as the registered agent’s location in the financial institution registration statement must be used under Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code. Out-of-state financial institutions must submit a registration application to the Secretary of State by following the state’s foreign corporation laws, including 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.

The officer responsible for executing a writ of garnishment must file a return that adheres to the citation rules. Tex. R. Civ. P. 663 highlights the need for the judgment creditor to examine the return before seeking a garnishment judgment, particularly in cases where the judgment is defaulted. Returns in garnishment proceedings are subject to the same regulations as citations in general. Courts have rejected returns that do not specify the method and location of service on a corporate garnishee.

Forms for the form and Practical Procedure

When a bank account or other debt owed by the judgment debtor that can be garnished is found and it is determined to be financially feasible, an Application for Garnishment must be filed. The application must be accompanied by 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.

Busby and Associates may be able to help you recover your judgment on a contingency basis, but only if it’s from Texas. For judgments from other states with the judgment debtor in Texas, they will review it on a case-by-case basis and may require a retainer. If the judgment debtor and/or judgment is in Comal County, Busby and Associates can assist you in garnishing a bank account or financial institution to recover the judgment amount.