Winning a judgment is just the beginning. Honestly, a judgment is really just a piece of paper (sometimes a very expensive piece of paper) that represents a debt someone owes. It is a tool available to a creditor for collecting that debt. However, if you’re unsure how to use this tool (like so many impulse purchases sitting in their original packaging in garages everywhere), you may never see the benefit of your judgment.
The first thing you’ll want to do is Abstract your judgment. Filing an abstract will establish a judgment lien against all non-exempt property held by the Judgment Debtor. This filing doesn’t generally mean an automatic response from the Debtor, but it may result in a response after the Debtor applies for credit to purchase a car or a home. A lender may require the Debtor to clear any pending judgment liens before extending a loan.
Debtors in Texas have rights, so some of the property owned by a Debtor is exempt from a judgment lien, like a person’s homestead. One good thing about judgments in Texas, though, is that they last for 10 years and can be extended, with a little procedural magic, indefinitely (in certain cases). This kind of time allows a Texas judgment to grow with interest until a judgment Debtor is finally able (and motivated) to pay.
If the Judgment Debtor owns nonexempt real or personal property registered in a given Texas county, you can request a Writ of Execution from the Court to begin the process to seize that property. If a Judgment Debtor holds non-exempt assets in a bank account, you can potentially garnish those assets to pay off a judgment debt. Finally, a Court, in certain circumstances, will appoint a Receiver. A receiver in Texas is an officer of the court and works for the judge. It is the receiver’s job to collect the nonexempt assets of the debtor and make them available for collection by the creditor.
If you have a judgment or if you’re seeking a judgment and want to collect, call us today at (832) 305-7694.