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

Collecting a judgment in Hansford County, Texas can be a challenging task, but with Busby & Associates by your side, you can feel confident in your legal representation. Our law firm is skilled in defending, collecting, and enforcing judgments, with a focus on garnishment of bank accounts and financial institutions. We also offer legal support for consumer bankruptcy, family law, and divorce matters, and we can assist both obligors and obligees with child support lien collections and defense, and domestication of foreign child support liens. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you collect what you are owed.

Texas Judgment liens in Hansford County

To ensure a judgment debtor’s nonexempt real property in Hansford County is subject to a lien, it must be properly fixed. This lien is created by correctly recording and indexing an abstract of judgment in all counties where the lien will be fixed. If the judgment remains active, the lien will remain in effect for ten years from the recordation and indexing date, but the judgment must be final and not interlocutory. In cases where the judgment is being appealed or if a supersedeas bond has been filed, a creditor may still file an abstract on a final judgment. If a creditor obtains a lien before the appeal, the appeal will not affect the lien if there is an affirmance. However, these rules only apply to Texas state trial court judgments and not to the enforcement of other state or foreign judgments. For the latter, you must first domesticate the judgment in Texas before you can file an abstract.

Texas Abstract of Judgment

Adhering to Texas state guidelines is crucial when abstracting a judgment. The abstract of judgment can usually 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. If you want to abstract your judgment lien in Hansford County, Texas, visit the County Clerk’s office at 15 NW Ct St, Spearman, Texas 79081.

Contents

A Texas abstract of judgment must adhere to specific guidelines to be valid, including specifying 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 outstanding balance, 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. Failure to provide the mailing address may result in a penalty filing fee, and unsworn declarations are not accepted.

Recordation of Judgment Liens Abstract

When the debtor has real property in Hansford County, the abstract of judgment must be registered in that county. The Hansford County clerk receives the abstract and records it in the county’s real property records, specifying the date and time of registration. Furthermore, the clerk must enter the abstract in the alphabetical index to the real property records, showing 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 foreign judgments with the same enforceability as local judgments. The foreign judgment holder must fulfill the lien requirements when domesticating the judgment in Texas.

Property To Which Lien Attaches Non-Exempt Real Property

All nonexempt real property owned by the defendant in Hansford County is encumbered by the judgment lien, which is recorded in the county.

Keeping the Judgment and Judgment Lien Alive

1.      Non-governmental Judgments

The judgment lien lasts for ten years following the recording and indexing of an abstract, but it becomes dormant if no writ of execution is issued within that time, causing the lien to cease. Thus, to maintain the judgment lien, it is important to keep the judgment alive and obtain and record a new abstract of judgment. A dormant judgment can be revived through scire facias or a debt action filed within two years of dormancy.

2.      State or State Agency Judgments.

State or state agency judgments do not lose their enforceability and remain valid throughout the lien’s life. A properly filed abstract of judgment can create a lien that lasts for 20 years from the filing date, and the lien can be extended for another 20 years by filing a renewed abstract of judgment.

3.      Political Subdivisions.

Though dormancy statutes may cause judgments of political subdivisions to become inactive, the political subdivision can revive the judgment at any time using the revival statute, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.006. Thus, the political subdivision is not restricted by the statute of limitations and can revive the judgment even beyond the two-year dormancy period.

4.      Child Support Judgments.

The provision in § 34.001 Subsection (c) of the Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code carves out an exception for child support judgments from the dormancy statute and applies to all such judgments, irrespective of their date of issuance.

Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution.

1.      Property Subject to Execution.

The execution has the power to confiscate the judgment debtor’s property unless it is exempted by the constitution, statute, or any other legal rule. Generally, the following categories of property are not exempted: a. Cash on hand or in checking or savings accounts; b. Pleasure boats and their motors and trailers; c. Collections of items such as stamps, coins, etc.; d. Investments like stocks, bonds, or notes; e. f. Airplanes. Corporations have no protected property.

2.      Property Exempt from Execution.

Irrespective of whether the debtor is a single adult or a family, the following categories of property are exempt from execution: a) the homestead; b) personal property of various categories as defined by law, with a total fair market value of up to $100,000.00 for a family or $50,000.00 for an individual adult; c) current wages earned from personal services (except child support) and unpaid personal service commissions that do not exceed 25% of the $50/$100,000 aggregate limits; 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 if the purchaser, mortgagee, or trustee identifies other property of the debtor that is sufficient to fulfill the execution; h) assets in the possession of a spendthrift trust trustee for the judgment debtor’s benefit; i) particular insurance benefits; j) specific savings plans, including retirement benefits and health savings plans; k) college savings plans; and l) certain consigned artwork.

WRITS OF GARNISHMENT.

The post-judgment garnishment is a legal remedy available to a judgment creditor to investigate the relationship between a third party and the judgment debtor for any outstanding debts or property owed to the debtor. If any debts are found, the creditor (garnishor) can obtain a garnishment judgment, requiring the third party (garnishee) to pay funds to the garnishor instead of the debtor.

Requirements to Issue

Garnishment is available after a judgment only if specific criteria are met. Firstly, the creditor must possess a valid and subsisting judgment against the debtor, with the judgment being considered final and subsisting from the date of rendition. Secondly, the debtor must not have filed an approved supersedeas bond to suspend execution on the judgment. Finally, the creditor must affirm that, based on their knowledge, the judgment debtor does not hold enough property subject to execution in Texas to satisfy the judgment.

Procedure for Securing Issuance Jurisdiction and parties

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

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

The writ of garnishment must be served on the garnishee to start a garnishment action, and the judgment defendant’s involvement is not required. 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 include 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 results in any judgment, except one that dissolves the writ, being invalid.

Banks as Garnishees for Writs of Garnishment

To deliver garnishment writs to garnishee banks, the designated address of the registered agent in the financial institution registration statement under Section 201.102 or 201.103 of the Finance Code must be used. Out-of-state financial institutions must comply with the state’s foreign corporation laws, including appointing an agent for process under Section 201.102, by filing a registration application with the Secretary of State. 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 in charge of executing a writ of garnishment is responsible for submitting a return that satisfies the citation guidelines, as per Tex. R. Civ. P. 663. The judgment creditor must review the return before seeking a garnishment judgment, especially in cases of default judgment. Returns in garnishment proceedings must adhere to the same regulations as citations in general. Courts have invalidated returns that do not provide information on the method and place of service on a corporate garnishee.

Forms for the form and Practical Procedure

In the event that a bank account or other debt owned by the judgment debtor can be garnished and it is cost-effective to do so, file an Application for Garnishment along with a supporting affidavit signed by the judgment creditor’s attorney. The affidavit must include essential information, such as the original suit and judgment details, the garnishee’s name, officers for service, and service address, as well as any available account names and numbers.

Don’t let a difficult judgment collection in Texas discourage you. Busby and Associates can help with their contingency-based services. For judgments from other states with the debtor in Texas, they evaluate each case individually and may require a retainer. In Hansford County, they can help you garnish a bank account or financial institution to recover the amount owed.