Property You Can’t Take in Texas

In Texas, a judgment debtor’s property is subject to seizure (called “levy and execution”) unless it is exempted by the Texas Constitution, statute or other rule of law.  The following is a brief, nonexclusive list of exemptions.  In other words, these are not all the exemptions available in Texas.  But, these are the ones you will most likely encounter in collecting a Texas judgment against an individual.

1.  The homestead

2.  Personal property of various categories up to the aggregate fair market value of $30,000 for an individual and $60,000 for a family

3.  Current wages for personal services (except for the enforcement of court-ordered child support)

4.  Doctor prescribed health aids of either the judgment debtor or his dependents

5.  Certain retirement benefits and funds

6.  Workers’ compensation payments

7.  Cemetery lots

8.  Property that the judgment debtor sold, mortgaged or conveyed in trust, if the purchaser, mortgager or trustee points out other property of the judgment debtor sufficient to satisfy the execution

9.  Assets in the hands of a trustee of a spendthrift trust for the benefit of the judgment debtor

10.  Insurance benefits

11.  Alimony, support or separate maintenance payments received for the judgment debtor’s support or the support of the judgment debtor’s dependents

12.  Judgments of Texas courts (A turnover order is an effective way to reach a Texas court judgment owned by the judgment debtor but it is the subject of a future article)

Remember, this is not an exhaustive list of exemptions.  It is only a list of those you will most likely encounter when pursuing a Texas judgment against an individual.