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

At Busby & Associates, we understand the challenges that come with 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 assist both obligors and obligees with child support lien collections and defense, and domesticating foreign child support liens in Cottle County, Texas. If you’re a judgment creditor who is struggling to recover a judgment from a debtor in Cottle County, Texas, let us help you navigate the process and achieve a successful outcome.

Texas Judgment liens in Cottle County

Properly recorded and indexed abstract of judgment in Cottle County can create a lien on all nonexempt real property owned by a judgment debtor. The abstract must be filed in every county where the debtor has property. The lien remains valid for ten years from the date of recordation and indexing, subject to the judgment not becoming dormant. A lien can only be established on final judgments, not interlocutory ones. However, even if a judgment is being appealed or a supersedeas bond has been filed, an abstract of judgment can still be filed. If the creditor establishes a lien before the appeal, it remains valid even if the judgment is affirmed. These rules only apply to Texas state trial court judgments. To establish a lien through the abstract of a judgment from another state or foreign country, the judgment must first be domesticated in Texas before an abstract can be filed.

Texas Abstract of Judgment

When it comes to abstracting a judgment in Texas, specific rules must be followed. Typically, the abstract can be prepared by the judge, justice of the peace, clerk of the court, judgment creditor, agent, attorney, or assignee 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. Keep in mind that abstracts of federal court judgments require certification from the clerk of the court. To abstract your judgment lien in Cottle County, Texas, you can visit the County Clerk’s office at 815 9th St, Paducah, Texas 79248.

Contents

To create a legally valid abstract of judgment in Texas, certain information must be included. 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 judgment creditor and be verified by the creditor’s attorney. If the mailing address is missing, a penalty filing fee will be imposed. Unverified declarations are not permitted.

Recordation of Judgment Liens Abstract

Cottle County is the appropriate location for recording the abstract of judgment if the debtor has real property in the county. The Cottle County clerk receives the abstract and documents it in the county’s real property records, noting the date and time of recording. Furthermore, the clerk must include the abstract in the alphabetical index to the real property records, which shows 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 allow foreign judgments to be enforced comparably to local judgments. In Texas, the foreign judgment holder must fulfill the lien requirements to domesticate the judgment.

Property To Which Lien Attaches Non-Exempt Real Property

Cottle County is where the judgment lien is attached to all nonexempt real property belonging to the defendant, recorded in the county.

Keeping the Judgment and Judgment Lien Alive

1.      Non-governmental Judgments

The judgment lien remains in effect for 10 years after the recording and indexing of an abstract, except if the judgment becomes dormant, in which case the lien ends. To keep the judgment lien active, two actions are required: (1) keep the judgment alive and (2) obtain and record a new abstract of judgment. If no writ of execution is issued within 10 years of judgment creation, it becomes dormant, but can be revived through scire facias or a debt action brought within two years of dormancy.

2.      State or State Agency Judgments.

The enforceability of state or state agency judgments does not become dormant. A valid abstract of judgment, on the other hand, can create a lien that lasts for 20 years from the filing date, and a renewed abstract of judgment can extend it for another 20 years.

3.      Political Subdivisions.

Although judgments of political subdivisions may go dormant under dormancy statutes, the political subdivision is not precluded by the statute of limitations from reviving the judgment using the revival statute, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006, at any time. Therefore, judgments of political subdivisions can be revived beyond the two-year dormancy period.

4.      Child Support Judgments.

The exclusion of child support judgments from the dormancy statute is a provision in Subsection (c) of § 34.001 of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code that covers any such judgments, whether they were issued recently or in the past.

Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.

1.      Property Subject to Execution.

Execution can seize the judgment debtor’s property unless it is exempted by the constitution, statute, or any other legal rule. Typically, 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, coins, etc.; d. Investments like stocks, bonds, or notes; e. f. Airplanes. There is no exempt property for corporations.

2.      Property Exempt from Execution.

Whether the debtor is a family or a single adult, certain property categories are immune from execution. These categories are: 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) consigned artwork that meets the criteria established by law.

WRITS OF GARNISHMENT.

The post-judgment garnishment is a legal recourse available to a judgment creditor to investigate if a third party owes any funds or property to the judgment debtor. If any debts are identified, the creditor (garnishor) can obtain a garnishment judgment, which obliges the third party (garnishee) to pay funds to the garnishor instead of the debtor.

Requirements to Issue

Garnishment can be employed following a judgment, but only if specific conditions are met. Firstly, the creditor must have a valid and subsisting judgment against the debtor, with the judgment being 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. Finally, the creditor must attest that, to the best of their knowledge, the debtor does not have enough property in Texas that can be executed to satisfy the judgment.

Procedure for Securing Issuance Jurisdiction and parties

A post-judgment garnishment action is a distinct legal proceeding from the main case it seeks to enforce. As an additional lawsuit, the third-party garnishee should be named as the defendant. Furthermore, it must be filed in the same court that rendered the judgment for collection, but with a different cause number.

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

To initiate a garnishment action, the writ of garnishment must be served on the garnishee, and the judgment defendant is not a necessary party. However, the defendant must receive 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 on the defendant must contain the contents of the writ in bold 12-point typeface and in a manner that is easily comprehensible for a reasonably attentive person. Failure to provide the judgment debtor with property notice renders any judgment, except for one that dissolves the writ, invalid.

Banks as Garnishees for Writs of Garnishment

The delivery of garnishment writs to garnishee banks requires the use of the address designated as the registered agent of the financial institution in its registration statement 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 and comply with 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 submitting a statement to the Secretary of State under Section 201.103.

Officer’s Return.

Filing a return that conforms to the citation rules is the officer’s responsibility when executing a writ of garnishment. According to Tex. R. Civ. P. 663, the judgment creditor should inspect the return before obtaining a garnishment judgment, particularly in cases of default judgment. Returns in garnishment proceedings are subject to the same rules as citations in general. Courts have rejected returns that do not indicate how a corporate garnishee was served and where the service took place.

Forms for the form and Practical Procedure

If a bank account or other debt owed by the judgment debtor that can be garnished is located and it is financially viable to do so, an Application for Garnishment must be filed. The application must be supported by an affidavit signed by the judgment creditor’s attorney, which should contain necessary details such as the original suit and judgment information, the garnishee’s name, officers for service, and address for service, as well as any available account names and numbers.

Busby and Associates could potentially assist you in collecting your Texas judgment on a contingency basis. However, if the judgment is from another state with the judgment debtor in Texas, they will assess it on a case-by-case basis and may require a retainer. For judgments from Cottle County, they can help you garnish a bank account or financial institution to recover the judgment amount.