Ok. You’ve sent post-judgment interrogatories and deposed your judgment debtor. You’ve gotten a writ of execution to seize property identified in the interrogatories and through deposition testimony. But, now you discover that the property you thought you could get isn’t easily attached through these ordinary post-judgment collection methods. What are you to do?
What you shouldn’t do is give up. There is another tool you can use when you’ve exhausted all other methods. It’s called “turnover relief.” In the interest of full disclosure let me say that you don’t actually have to wait until you’ve exhausted all other post-judgment collection methods before considering turnover relief. But, it’s generally easier to use the other methods first. And, some courts still require that you get a writ of execution and have it returned “nulla bona” before they will grant you turnover relief. So, the best practice is to at least issue the writ of execution and make the service attempt on it first. After that, you can go for turnover relief if you so desire.
So, what exactly is “turnover relief?” It’s a procedure in which the court orders your judgment debtor to turn over to you, the judgment creditor, all non-exempt assets to satisfy the judgment you hold. What the procedure essentially does is place the burden on your judgment debtor to produce the property to you rather than the burden being on you to locate the property through the normal post-judgment discovery process. But, keep in mind that the court’s jurisdiction in this “turnover order” is limited to nonexempt property of the judgment debtor that you can’t easily attach or levy through ordinary legal process. See Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 31.002(a).
Another very helpful twist to a turnover order is that the court may appoint a receiver to collect the property. If the court appoints a receiver that person’s job is to to take possession of the property, sell it and pay the proceeds to you until the judgment is satisfied in full. See Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 31.002(b)(3). Of course, the decision to appoint a receiver is fully within the discretion of the court.
While a turnover order can be an effective method of enforcing your judgment when all other remedies are unsuccessful, don’t get the mistaken impression that it’s the solution to all your collection problems. It isn’t. You must understand that the turnover order is only available to get your judgment debtor’s nonexempt property. Just like with a writ of execution there is property that is exempt from a turnover order. But, there is also plenty of property that is subject to a turnover order.
I’ll cover the property exempt from and subject to a turnover order in greater detail in another article. Until then, make sure you utilize all of the post-judgment remedies available to you and explained in my book How to Collect Your Own Judgment in Texas. If you’ve not yet gotten your copy of the book, you can get it today by using the “Add to Cart” button at the top of this page. And, for reading this article, I’ll give you a 20% discount. Just use the code TURNOVER at check out.
Tags: exempt assets, Nulla bona, Writ of execution, Turnover Orders, judgment debtor
