How to Collect Your Own Judgment in Texas

Introduction

Step #1: Finding Your Judgment Debtor

• List the Information You Already Know
• Post Office Resources
• Requesting Change of Address Information
• Other Information the Post Office Will Give You
• Driver’s License Information
• Telephone Information
• Online Public Record Searches

Forms for Finding Your Judgment Debtor

• What I Already Know About My Judgment Debtor
• Letter to Postal Service Requesting Information Concerning Business Boxholder
• Request for Boxholder Information Needed for Service of Legal Process
• Request for Change of Address Needed for Service of Legal Process
• Request for 911 Address Needed for Service of Legal Process
• Texas DPS Driver’s Request Form

Step #2: The Judgment Lien & Abstract of Judgment

• Creation of Judgment Lien
• Property to Which the Lien Attaches
• Real Property
• Inherited Real Estate
• Homestead
• Contents of Abstract of Judgment
• Recording Your Abstract of Judgment
• Canceling the Judgment Lien
• Keeping Your Judgment and Your Lien Alive

Forms for the Judgment Lien & Abstract of Judgment

• Abstract of Judgment
• Release of Judgment Lien

Step #3: Post-Judgment Discovery

• Depositions
• Written Interrogatories
• Motion to Compel Discovery
• Motion for Contempt

Forms for Post-Judgment Discovery

• Notice of Intention to Take Oral Deposition in Aid of Judgment with Duces Tecum
• Deposition Questions
• Plaintiff’s Interrogatories in Aid of Judgment
• Motion to Compel Answers to Interrogatories in Aid of Judgment
• Notice of Hearing on Motion to Compel Answers to Interrogatories in Aid of Judgment
• Order Compelling Answers to Interrogatories in Aid of Judgment
• Letter to Defendant with Copy of Order Compelling Answers to Interrogatories in Aid of Judgment
• Motion for Contempt and for Show-Cause Order
• Order for Show-Cause Hearing
• Show-Cause Notice
• Contempt Judgment
• Order for Writ of Attachment
• Writ of Attachment

Step #4: Locating Real Property

Step #5: Writ of Execution

• Execution
• Property Subject to and Exempt from Execution

Forms for Writ of Execution

• Writ of Execution

Step #6: Finding the Judgment Debtor’s Bank Accounts

• Write the Judgment Debtor a Check
• Use a Check the Judgment Debtor Wrote You
• Divorce Records
• Bankruptcy Records
• Discovery in Aid of Judgment

Step #7: Garnishment

• Purpose and Use of Garnishment
• Service on Garnishee Financial Institutions
• Property You Can Garnish
• Getting a Writ of Garnishment
• Notice to the Defendant
• Effect of the Writ of Garnishment
• Final Orders for Garnishment

Forms for Garnishment

• Application for Writ of Garnishment
• Writ of Garnishment After Judgment
• Notice of Garnishment
• Agreed Judgment of Garnishment
• Motion To Dissolve Writ of Garnishment
• Order for Dissolving Writ of Garnishment

Appendix 1: Enforcing Sister-State Judgments in Texas

• The Affidavit Procedure
• Competent Jurisdiction
• Common-Law Action to Enforce Sister-State Judgments
• Defenses to Your Judgment

Forms for Enforcing Sister-State Judgments in Texas

• Affidavit for Filing Sister-State Judgment

Endnotes

Step #2

The Judgment Lien & Abstract of Judgment

Creation of Judgment Lien

A lien is a claim against a person’s property for payment of a debt. Your judgment doesn’t automatically create a lien on your judgment debtor’s property.¹ You have to do something to create the lien after you obtain a judgment. To create a lien against your judgment debtor’s real property you have to file an abstract of your judgment. You file an abstract of judgment in the real property records of the county where your judgment debtor owns real estate.

An abstract of judgment is simply a written summary of your judgment. The abstract states the amount of money the judgment debtor owes you. It also gives the rate of interest to be paid on the judgment and the amount due for court costs. The abstract of judgment may also contain any specific orders the judgment debtor must obey. To abstract the judgment means that it’s acknowledged, stamped and recorded among the real property records of the county where your judgment debtor owns real estate.

By abstracting your judgment, you create a public record claim on any real estate your judgment debtor currently owns or may later purchase or otherwise acquire. Unless your judgment debtor’s property falls within one of the allowable exemptions of Texas law, you can even force a sheriff’s sale of the property to collect your judgment.

It’s not difficult to prepare and record an abstract of your judgment. Preparing and recording an abstract of your judgment is the first thing you should do after you get the judgment and confirm the location of your judgment debtor. Form 2-1 is a sample Abstract of Judgment for your use. The sample contains every element Texas law requires of an Abstract of Judgment. Follow the example exactly and you’ll have a good lien against your judgment debtor’s real estate.

Property to Which the Lien Attaches

Real Property

When you record the abstract of your judgment, it creates a lien on the judgment debtor’s nonexempt real property. It’s important that you understand it doesn’t create a lien on all the property he owns in the State of Texas. It only creates a lien on the property he owns in the county where you abstract the judgment. So, you need to abstract your judgment in every county in which you believe your judgment debtor may own property. Theoretically, you can create a lien on all the property your judgment debtor owns in the State of Texas but to do so you’ll need to record the abstract in every county in the State of Texas.

The lien your abstract creates continues for ten years from the date you record it. The judgment lien of your abstract attaches to any property your judgment debtor owns at the time you record it. It also attaches a lien to any real property your judgment debtor acquires after you record the abstract. But, the lien only attaches to real estate. It doesn’t attach to any of your judgment debtor’s personal property like cars, boats, planes, household furnishings, etc.

Inherited Real Estate

When a person dies in Texas, either with or without a will, that person’s property immediately vests in the heirs. But, the property is still subject to the payment of the deceased person’s debts.² What does this mean for you? It means that your properly filed and indexed abstracted of judgment creates a lien against any real property your judgment debtor may inherit. But, it also means that the executor of the decedent’s estate can sell the property of the estate, free of your judgment lien, to pay debts of the estate, if any.³ So, if your judgment debtor inherits real estate and there are no debts of the estate which require the executor to sell the property, your judgment lien attaches to the inherited real estate.

Homestead

A more complete discussion of the Texas homestead exemption is in Step 5. For now, you just need to understand that your abstract doesn’t create a lien on your judgment debtor’s homestead in Texas. But, your abstract does create a cloud on the title of your judgment debtor’s homestead. A cloud on the title simply means that there is a potentially competing claim to the title to your judgment debtor’s homestead property. A cloud hinders the judgment debtor’s ability to sell the property. The hindrance occurs because a knowledgeable buyer won’t buy a piece of property for which there is a potential for an adverse claim by another person. Furthermore, a title company won’t insurance the title as long as there is a cloud on it. Be aware, however, that you will have to release the lien as to your judgment debtor’s homestead if you’re asked to do so. If you don’t, your judgment debtor may have a claim against you for damages.⁴ So, as a practical matter, your cloud on the homestead title doesn’t carry much weight at all.

Contents of Abstract of Judgment

The judgment lien is a statutory creation. This means it must comply strictly with statutory requirements. The burden is on you to make sure the abstract of judgment complies with all the law’s requirements. Your abstract of judgment must contain the following:⁵

1. Your mailing address;
2. Your name and the name of each defendant in your judgment;
3. Each defendant’s date of birth and driver’s license number, if available;
4. The cause number of the underlying lawsuit in which you were awarded the judgment;
5. The address of each defendant in the suit;
6. The date the judgment was signed by the judge;
7. The amount of the judgment and the current balance due on the judgment;
8. The interest rate specified in the judgment.

Form 2-1 covers all of these elements for you.

If you are or were represented by an attorney in getting your judgment, your attorney is a person authorized to prepare an abstract of judgment. If you are not currently represented by an attorney, there are rules to govern who may prepare an abstract of judgment.

1. If your judgment is in Justice Court or Small Claims court, the Justice of the Peace presiding over the court is the person authorized to prepare your abstract of judgment.
2. If your judgment is in any other court, i.e., County Court, County Court at Law or District Court, you can either prepare the abstract yourself or request that the clerk of the court prepare it. If you choose to prepare it yourself (my recommendation), you must verify it. To verify the abstract, you only need to swear to it’s contents in the presence of a Notary Public. Form 2-1 includes a verification for you.

Recording Your Abstract of Judgment

The county clerk for the county in which you want to record your abstract of judgment will record your abstract when you present it for recordation along with the payment of the appropriate fee for recording. The fees vary by county so you need to check with your county clerk to get the correct fee. When you present the abstract for recording, the clerk will place a notation on the abstract that gives the day and hour of recording. The clerk will then enter the abstract into an alphabetical index to the judgment records for the county. This index shows the name of each plaintiff and each defendant in the judgment and the volume and page number in the records where the abstract is recorded.

You should record your abstract of judgment in the following counties:

1. The county where your judgment debtor lives.
2. The county where your judgment debtor has a business or is employed.
3. The county where your judgment debtor has previously lived (your judgment debtor may still own property there or may return to live there again).
4. The county where your judgment debtor’s family lives (this covers you for inheritance purposes).
5. Any county where your judgment debtor has previously owned real estate (force of habit may find your judgment debtor either living or investing there again).

Canceling the Judgment Lien

If your judgment debtor pays you the full amount of your judgment, you have to release the judgment lien. You release it by executing a release of judgment lien and sending it to the judgment debtor. You should send the release to the judgment debtor along with a list of all counties in which you filed the abstract. You should include a statement in your cover letter that it’s the judgment debtor’s responsibility to record the release in all the counties where you recorded the abstract. Form 2-2 is a sample release of judgment lien. When you complete the release you’ll need to sign it in the presence of a Notary Public.

If your judgment debtor files bankruptcy and obtains a discharge, that discharge will discharge the judgment and cancel the judgment lien. If your abstract of judgment was recorded before September 1, 1993, however, the judgment debtor must apply to the court that granted the judgment for an order discharging the judgment and canceling the judgment lien after getting the bankruptcy discharge.⁶ But, if your abstract was recorded on or after September 1, 1993, your judgment debtor’s bankruptcy discharge automatically cancels the judgment and the lien.

Keeping Your Judgment and Your Lien Alive

Once you create a judgment lien it continues for 10 years after the recording and indexing of your abstract of judgment unless your judgment becomes dormant during that period.⁷ To keep your judgment from becoming dormant you must issue and serve a Writ of Execution before the judgment is 10 years old.⁸ Writs of Execution are covered in detail in Step 5. As long as you issue and serve the Writ of Execution within 10 years of the date of your judgment, the judgment stays alive and the lien you create with the abstract also stays alive.

So, what you want to do is keep an eye on both your judgment lien and it’s priority position in the judgment records. You do that by recording and indexing a new abstract of judgment before the expiration of 10 years from the date the last abstract was recorded and executing on the judgment to keep if from becoming dormant. Since each new abstract creates a new lien, recording and indexing an abstract more than 10 years after the immediately preceding abstract was recorded and indexed creates a new lien but the break of more than 10 years causes a loss of the preceding lien and it’s priority in the chain of title.⁹

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¹C.I.T. Corp. v. Haynie, 135 S.W.2d 618, 622 (Tex. Civ. App. – Eastland 1940, no writ).

²Texas Probate Code § 37.

³Woodward v. Jaster, 933 S.W.2d 777, 780-82 (Tex. App. – Austin 1996, no writ).

⁴Tarrant Bank v. Miller, 833 S.W.2d 666, 6670668 (Tex. App. – Eastland 1992, writ denied).

⁵Texas Property Code §§ 52.003, 52.0041.

⁶Texas Property Code §§ 52.021 -.025.

⁷Texas Property Code § 52.006.

⁸Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 34.001(a).

⁹Burton Lingo Co v. Warren, 45 S.W.2d 750 (Tex. Civ. App. – Eastland 1931, writ ref’d).

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