⚖️ How to Collect a Judgment in Texas: Complete Guide

Everything creditors, attorneys, and judgment holders need to know about enforcing and collecting civil judgments in Texas.

⚖️ Texas Judgment Collection Overview

Winning a civil judgment in Texas is only the first step. The court does not automatically collect the money owed to you — that responsibility falls on the judgment creditor. If the debtor does not voluntarily pay, you must actively pursue enforcement.

Texas is one of the most debtor-friendly states in the nation for judgment collection. The state offers an unlimited-value homestead exemption (limited only by acreage), NO wage garnishment for most civil judgments, and extremely generous personal property exemptions. However, Texas’s massive economy — the second-largest in the US — means debtors often have substantial non-exempt assets including oil and gas interests, business assets, non-homestead real estate, and vehicles above exemption limits.

With 254 counties (more than any other state) and a diverse economy spanning Houston’s energy sector, Dallas’s corporate headquarters, Austin’s tech boom, and extensive ranching operations, Texas requires strategic, asset-focused collection.

📜 Key Texas Statutes

⏱️ Enforcement Period

Texas grants a 10-year enforcement period. Judgments can be renewed for additional 10-year periods by filing before expiration. Abstract of judgment liens last 10 years and must be renewed.

Visit our guide on judgment renewal procedures.

💰 Post-Judgment Interest Rates

Texas’s post-judgment interest rate is 5% per year for most judgments (Tex. Fin. Code § 304.003).

Original	After 5 Years	After 10 Years
$5,000	$6,250	$7,500
$10,000	$12,500	$15,000
$25,000	$31,250	$37,500
$50,000	$62,500	$75,000
$100,000	$125,000	$150,000

A $50,000 judgment grows to $75,000 after 10 years at 5%.

🔧 Collection Methods

Method	Best For	Statute
💼 Wage Garnishment	NOT AVAILABLE	Tex. Const. Art. XVI § 28
🏦 Bank Levy	Bank accounts	Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. § 34.001+
🏠 Judgment Lien	Non-homestead real estate	Tex. Prop. Code § 52.001+
🔄 Turnover Order	Non-exempt assets	Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. § 31.002
📋 Post-Judgment Discovery	Asset discovery	Tex. R. Civ. P. 621a
🔄 Domestication	Out-of-state judgments	Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. § 35.001+

💼 Wage Garnishment — NOT Available

The Texas Constitution (Art. XVI § 28) prohibits wage garnishment for most civil judgments. This is one of the strongest wage protections in the nation.

🔹 Limited Exceptions

✅ Child support and spousal support — ✅ Federal tax debts — ✅ Student loan defaults — ✅ Court-ordered restitution

For most commercial and civil judgments, wage garnishment is simply not available in Texas. Collection must focus on other assets.

🏦 Bank Levies

Bank levies are a critical tool in Texas given the lack of wage garnishment. The creditor obtains a writ of execution and the constable or sheriff serves it on the bank. Texas does NOT have a specific bank account exemption amount, but wages deposited remain exempt if traceable.

🏠 Property Liens and Real Estate

🔹 How Liens Work

File an abstract of judgment with the County Clerk in each county where the debtor owns non-homestead real property. With 254 counties, targeted filing based on asset searches is essential.

🔹 The Unlimited Homestead

Texas’s homestead exemption is UNLIMITED in value but limited by acreage: 10 acres in a city/town or 100 acres (200 for a family) in rural areas. A $10 million River Oaks mansion on 5 acres is fully protected. This makes Texas one of the most debtor-friendly states for homestead protection.

🔹 Non-Homestead Property

Investment properties, vacation homes, commercial real estate, and ranch land beyond the homestead acreage limits receive zero protection. Many Texas ranchers own thousands of acres — only 100-200 acres qualify for homestead.

🛡️ Texas Exemptions

Category	Protection	Statute
🏠 Homestead	Unlimited value (10 acres urban / 100-200 acres rural)	Tex. Prop. Code § 41.001+
💼 Wages	100% exempt (no garnishment)	Tex. Const. Art. XVI § 28
🚗 Motor Vehicles	1 vehicle per licensed driver (no value limit, but courts apply reasonableness)	Tex. Prop. Code § 42.002
👤 Personal Property	$100,000 individual / $200,000 family aggregate	Tex. Prop. Code § 42.001
🔧 Tools of Trade	Included in personal property cap	Tex. Prop. Code § 42.002
👴 Retirement	100% exempt	Tex. Prop. Code § 42.0021

📋 Post-Judgment Discovery

Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 621a allows post-judgment discovery including interrogatories, requests for production, and depositions. This is critical for identifying non-exempt assets given Texas’s extensive exemptions.

Learn more: post-judgment discovery guide.

🔍 Locating the Debtor

Professional skip tracing services cover all 254 TX counties. Our Texas skip tracing services locate debtors statewide.

🌟 What Makes Texas Unique

✅ UNLIMITED homestead — Primary residence fully protected regardless of value.

✅ NO wage garnishment — Constitutional prohibition for most civil judgments.

✅ $100K/$200K personal property — Extremely generous exemptions.

✅ 254 counties — Most counties of any state.

✅ Turnover statute — Powerful tool for non-exempt assets.

✅ Oil and gas economy — Mineral interests are often non-exempt.

✅ No state income tax — Attracts wealth migration.

✅ Massive ranches — Land beyond homestead acreage is exposed.

🔄 Domestication

Texas has adopted the UEFJA (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 35.001+).

See our guide on how to domesticate a judgment.

🛢️ Houston Metro

Houston is the energy capital of the world and Texas’s largest metro:

✅ Energy industry — ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, BP, and hundreds of oil/gas companies headquartered in Houston. Energy executives earn $200,000-$10,000,000+ but cannot have wages garnished. Focus on mineral interests, business assets, and non-homestead property.

✅ Texas Medical Center — The world’s largest medical center with MD Anderson, Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann, and dozens of hospitals employing thousands of physicians at $200,000-$1,000,000+.

✅ Premium neighborhoods — River Oaks, Memorial, West University, Tanglewood feature homes from $1 million to $30 million+ — ALL protected by unlimited homestead. Focus on non-homestead property and bank accounts.

✅ Galveston vacation property — Beach homes and condos are non-homestead property fully exposed to liens.

🏙️ Dallas-Fort Worth

DFW is Texas’s second-largest metro with major corporate presence:

✅ Corporate headquarters — AT&T, American Airlines, ExxonMobil (Irving), Texas Instruments, Southwest Airlines. Executive compensation cannot be garnished but flows through bank accounts.

✅ Financial services — Major banking and financial operations.

✅ Premium neighborhoods — Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow feature homes from $1 million to $20 million+ with unlimited homestead protection.

✅ Real estate investment — DFW’s growth attracts investors with multiple non-homestead properties.

💻 Austin

Austin is Texas’s tech capital:

✅ Tech giants — Tesla, Apple, Google, Meta, Oracle, Dell, Samsung have major Austin operations. Tech workers earn $100,000-$500,000+ but wages are protected. Stock compensation is discoverable through post-judgment discovery.

✅ Startup ecosystem — Thousands of tech startups with valuable equity interests.

✅ Lake Travis/Lake Austin — Waterfront properties are often non-homestead vacation homes fully exposed to liens.

🏛️ San Antonio

✅ Military — Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston) is the largest joint base in the DoD. Military wages are garnishable through DFAS even though Texas civilian wages are not.

✅ Healthcare — Major medical center with Baptist Health, Methodist Healthcare, University Health System.

⛽ Oil and Gas Interests

Texas’s energy economy creates significant collection opportunities through mineral interests:

✅ Mineral rights — Mineral interests are REAL PROPERTY subject to judgment liens. File abstracts in producing counties (Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, Barnett Shale). Mineral rights are NOT part of the homestead exemption.

✅ Royalty income — Oil and gas royalties flow through bank accounts and can be captured through bank levies. Royalty income can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars monthly.

✅ Working interests — Operating and non-operating working interests in oil/gas wells are business assets reachable through turnover orders.

✅ Oil field employment — While wages cannot be garnished, oil field workers’ income flows through bank accounts. Time levies to payroll deposit schedules.

💻 Technology Sector

Texas’s tech boom creates high-income collection targets:

✅ Stock compensation — Tech workers receive RSUs, stock options, and equity grants discoverable through post-judgment discovery. These assets may be reachable through turnover orders.

✅ Non-homestead property — Tech workers often own investment properties and vacation homes (Lake Travis, Hill Country) that are fully exposed.

✅ Bank accounts — High salaries flow through bank accounts for levy capture.

🏥 Healthcare Industry

✅ Texas Medical Center (Houston) — Largest medical center in the world. Physician wages cannot be garnished but flow through bank accounts.

✅ DFW healthcare — Major hospital systems employ thousands of physicians.

✅ Practice real estate — Many physicians own their office buildings as non-homestead commercial property.

🤠 Ranching and Agriculture

Texas’s ranching economy creates significant collection targets:

✅ Ranch land beyond homestead — Many Texas ranches are thousands of acres. Only 100-200 acres qualify for homestead. A 5,000-acre ranch has 4,800-4,900 acres fully exposed at $1,000-$10,000+ per acre — potentially millions in non-exempt value.

✅ Cattle — Commercial cattle herds are included in personal property but may exceed the $100K/$200K cap.

✅ Farm equipment — Large-scale farming requires expensive equipment that may exceed exemption caps.

✅ Hunting leases — Landowners receive hunting lease income of $5-$25+ per acre flowing through bank accounts.

🪖 Military

Texas has massive military presence with an important collection advantage:

✅ Military wages ARE garnishable — Unlike Texas civilian wages, military member wages are garnishable through DFAS under federal law. This is a critical exception to Texas’s no-garnishment rule.

✅ Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) — One of the largest Army installations in the world.

✅ Joint Base San Antonio — Largest joint base in the DoD.

✅ Fort Bliss (El Paso) — Major Army installation.

✅ Federal civilian employees — Federal civilian wages are also garnishable through agency payroll systems.

🏘️ Real Estate Investment

Texas’s growth drives real estate investment creating non-homestead targets:

✅ Rental properties — Investment properties are NOT homestead and are fully exposed to judgment liens.

✅ Commercial real estate — Office buildings, retail centers, and industrial properties are non-exempt.

✅ Vacation properties — Lake houses, beach condos, and Hill Country retreats are non-homestead.

💼 Business Assets

Texas’s business economy creates collection opportunities through the turnover statute:

✅ Turnover orders (§ 31.002) — Courts can order debtors to turn over non-exempt property including business interests, accounts receivable, and equipment.

✅ LLC and partnership interests — Business ownership interests may be reachable through turnover or charging orders.

✅ Accounts receivable — Business receivables can be garnished by serving on the debtor’s customers.

🔄 Cross-Border Garnishment

Since Texas prohibits wage garnishment, cross-border strategies are critical:

✅ Debtor works in another state — If a Texas debtor works in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, or Louisiana (all allow wage garnishment), domesticate the judgment there and garnish wages at the employment state.

✅ Debtor has out-of-state assets — Domesticate to pursue property in states with better collection tools.

🔍 Fraudulent Transfers

Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 24.001+) provides tools to challenge transfers. Given Texas’s extensive exemptions, watch for conversion of non-exempt assets to exempt categories, transfers to family members or entities, and movement of assets to homestead property.

✅ Judgment Satisfaction

Upon full payment, file a release of abstract of judgment in every county where the abstract was filed.

🔧 Maximum-Impact Strategy

Texas’s exemptions require creative, asset-focused collection:

✅ Day 1: File abstracts — Record in counties where debtor owns non-homestead property.

✅ Day 1: Bank levy — Capture existing balances. Time to oil/gas royalty payments, business income deposits.

✅ Week 1: Post-judgment discovery — Compel complete asset disclosure. Identify mineral interests, business assets, non-homestead property, vehicles, stock compensation.

✅ Month 1: Turnover motion — File motion for turnover of non-exempt assets.

✅ Cross-border — If debtor works out-of-state, domesticate and garnish there.

✅ Settlement — Many Texas debtors will negotiate rather than disclose all assets and face turnover proceedings.

💲 Costs

✅ Abstract filing: $5 to $20 per county — ✅ Writ of execution: $50 to $100 — ✅ Turnover motion: Attorney fees — ✅ Discovery: Court costs

📅 Timeline

💰 Wealth Migration and No-Tax Status

Texas has become a top destination for wealth migration:

✅ No state income tax — Texas is one of nine states with no personal income tax, attracting wealthy individuals from California, New York, Illinois, and other high-tax states.

✅ California exodus — Tech executives, entrepreneurs, and celebrities have relocated to Texas, particularly Austin and Dallas. Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, and numerous tech company relocations highlight this trend.

✅ Corporate relocations — Tesla, Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Charles Schwab, and others have moved headquarters to Texas, bringing high-income employees.

✅ Collection implications — These migrants often have substantial non-Texas assets, out-of-state business interests, and investment properties in their former states that remain reachable through domestication. They may also retain employment relationships with California or New York companies — creating potential cross-border wage garnishment opportunities in those states.

🛢️ Permian Basin Deep Dive

The Permian Basin in West Texas is the most productive oil field in the United States:

✅ Mineral rights concentration — Midland, Ector, Reeves, Loving, Ward, and surrounding counties contain billions of dollars in mineral rights. Many families have owned mineral interests for generations. A single mineral acre in a productive formation can be worth $10,000-$100,000+.

✅ Royalty income — Royalty owners receive monthly payments based on production. A modest mineral position can generate $1,000-$50,000+ monthly in royalties. This income flows through bank accounts and is capturable through levies.

✅ Working interests — Investors with working interests in wells have both income streams and ownership interests that are non-exempt business assets.

✅ Oil field employment — While wages cannot be garnished, oil field workers (roughnecks, engineers, geologists, executives) earn $50,000-$500,000+. This income flows through bank accounts. Time levies to payroll schedules and bonus payments.

✅ Oil field service companies — Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, and hundreds of service companies have valuable equipment fleets and accounts receivable.

Mineral interest searches should be conducted through the county clerk’s offices in producing counties. Production data from the Texas Railroad Commission can help value mineral interests.

🚗 Vehicle Exemption Strategy

Texas’s vehicle exemption requires strategic analysis:

✅ One vehicle per licensed driver — Texas exempts one motor vehicle for each licensed family member. There is no specific value limit, but courts apply a “reasonableness” standard.

✅ Excess vehicles — A family with two licensed drivers but four vehicles has two vehicles exposed. Luxury and collector vehicles beyond the one-per-driver limit are fully reachable.

✅ Commercial vehicles — Business vehicles may fall under personal property exemption caps rather than the vehicle exemption. Commercial fleets often exceed exemption limits.

✅ Boats, RVs, aircraft — These are NOT “motor vehicles” for exemption purposes. Boats, RVs, and aircraft are personal property subject to the $100K/$200K aggregate cap and are often reachable.

A debtor with a $100,000 sports car, a $50,000 boat, and a $200,000 RV may have significant exposed value depending on total personal property exemption calculation.

🏗️ Construction Industry

Texas’s massive construction industry creates collection opportunities:

✅ Homebuilders — Texas’s population growth drives residential construction. Builders hold valuable land positions, equipment, and work-in-progress inventory. Spec homes under construction are non-homestead property.

✅ Commercial contractors — Contractors building offices, warehouses, and industrial facilities have valuable equipment fleets and contract receivables.

✅ Subcontractors — Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and specialty contractors have equipment and receivables.

✅ Mechanic’s liens — Construction industry debtors may have accounts receivable from projects or mechanic’s lien rights that are attachable assets.

🏦 Banking and Finance

Texas’s financial sector provides collection targets:

✅ Banking operations — Major banks have significant Texas operations. Banking executives earn competitive salaries that flow through bank accounts.

✅ Private equity and investment — Texas has attracted private equity firms and investment managers. Investment professionals have non-exempt partnership interests and carried interest.

✅ Hedge fund managers — Several hedge funds have relocated to Texas. Manager compensation and fund interests are potential collection targets.

🎓 Higher Education

Texas’s universities provide stable employment:

✅ University of Texas System — UT Austin, UT Southwestern Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center employ thousands of faculty and researchers. Medical faculty earn $200,000-$1,000,000+.

✅ Texas A&M System — Major research universities throughout the state.

✅ Rice University, Baylor, SMU, TCU — Private universities with competitive faculty compensation.

While faculty wages cannot be garnished, they flow through bank accounts and faculty often own non-homestead investment properties.

🏈 Professional Sports

Texas’s professional sports create high-value targets:

✅ NFL teams (Cowboys, Texans) — Player salaries cannot be garnished but flow through Texas bank accounts.

✅ NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS — Multiple professional franchises in Texas metros.

✅ Athlete investments — Current and former athletes often own Texas real estate and businesses.

✅ Sports-related businesses — Training facilities, sports medicine practices, and athlete representation businesses have valuable assets.

🏛️ Small Claims and Justice Court

Texas Justice Courts handle small claims up to $20,000. Justice court judgments are enforced using the same methods as district court judgments. Abstracts can be filed, bank levies pursued, and turnover orders obtained. See our guide on enforcing small claims judgments.

⚠️ Bankruptcy Considerations

Texas does NOT allow debtors to choose federal bankruptcy exemptions — debtors must use Texas’s state exemptions in bankruptcy. This means the unlimited homestead applies in bankruptcy, potentially sheltering millions in home equity from creditors and the bankruptcy trustee.

Strategic consideration: Texas debtors may actually benefit from bankruptcy given the unlimited homestead. A debtor with a $5 million home and modest other assets could discharge unsecured debts while keeping the home entirely. This creates interesting dynamics — some creditors may prefer negotiated settlement over pushing a debtor toward bankruptcy where Texas exemptions fully protect the home. Monitor for bankruptcy filings.

📅 Seasonal Collection Timing

Texas’s economy has patterns affecting collection:

✅ Oil/gas royalty payments — Royalty checks are typically issued monthly, 60-90 days after production. Time bank levies to capture these deposits.

✅ Cattle sales — Fall cattle sales (September-November) generate significant income for ranchers.

✅ Hunting lease payments — Hunting leases are typically paid annually before hunting season (August-October).

✅ Year-end bonuses — Corporate and oil/gas company bonuses in December-January create peak bank deposits.

✅ Tax refund season — Federal tax refunds (February-April) create bank levy opportunities.

🚤 Recreational Assets

Texas’s outdoor culture creates personal property targets:

✅ Boats and watercraft — Lake Travis, Lake Conroe, coastal areas support extensive recreational boating. Boats from $20,000 to $500,000+ are personal property subject to exemption caps.

✅ RVs and travel trailers — Popular for Texas camping and travel. Values from $30,000 to $400,000+ often exceed exemption room.

✅ Aircraft — Texas’s aviation culture includes significant private aircraft ownership. Aircraft from $100,000 to several million are discoverable through FAA searches.

✅ ATVs and off-road vehicles — Popular on ranches and recreational properties.

✅ Horses and livestock — Quarter horses and show horses can be worth $10,000-$500,000+ individually.

🛡️ Insurance Industry

Texas’s insurance sector provides collection targets:

✅ USAA (San Antonio) — Major insurer employing thousands.

✅ Insurance agency ownership — Independent agents own valuable books of business and receive commission income.

✅ Surplus lines — Texas’s surplus lines market includes specialty insurers with executive compensation.

🌎 Border Economy

Texas’s border region creates unique considerations:

✅ Cross-border business — Import/export companies, customs brokers, and maquiladora-related businesses have valuable assets and receivables.

✅ Border city economy — El Paso, Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville have significant business activity.

✅ Real estate investment — Border region real estate includes non-homestead investment and commercial properties.

⚖️ Professional Practices

Texas professionals have collectible assets:

✅ Medical practices — Physicians own equipment worth $100,000-$500,000+ and have accounts receivable. Practice real estate is non-homestead commercial property.

✅ Dental practices — Similar equipment and receivables value.

✅ Law firms — Partner interests, receivables, and office real estate are potential targets.

✅ Accounting practices — Book of business value and receivables.

🛢️ Eagle Ford Shale

South Texas’s Eagle Ford Shale is another major producing region:

✅ Producing counties — Karnes, DeWitt, Gonzales, La Salle, McMullen, Dimmit, and surrounding counties contain significant mineral wealth.

✅ Mineral interests — Eagle Ford mineral rights are valuable real property subject to judgment liens. File abstracts in producing counties.

✅ Royalty owners — Many South Texas landowners receive substantial royalty income from Eagle Ford production.

✅ Economic development — The Eagle Ford boom created wealth throughout South Texas that may translate to non-exempt assets including investment properties and business interests.

🏔️ Hill Country Real Estate

The Texas Hill Country creates vacation and investment property targets:

✅ Vacation properties — Fredericksburg, Wimberley, Marble Falls, Dripping Springs, and Hill Country communities feature vacation homes from $300,000 to $3 million+. Non-homestead vacation properties are fully exposed.

✅ Vineyard properties — Texas wine country in the Hill Country includes vineyard properties with valuable land, equipment, and inventory.

✅ Short-term rentals — Hill Country vacation rentals generate $20,000-$100,000+ annually in rental income flowing through bank accounts.

✅ Ranch retreats — Recreational ranches beyond the 100-200 acre homestead limit have fully exposed acreage worth $2,000-$20,000+ per acre.

🏖️ Coastal Properties

Texas’s Gulf Coast creates non-homestead vacation property targets:

✅ Galveston — Beach houses and condos from $200,000 to $2 million+ are non-homestead if the debtor’s primary residence is elsewhere.

✅ South Padre Island — Vacation condos and beach properties are fully exposed to judgment liens.

✅ Port Aransas, Rockport — Coastal communities with vacation and fishing properties.

✅ Vacation rental income — Coastal property rentals during peak season (summer, spring break) generate income flowing through bank accounts.

💻 Austin Tech Deep Dive

Austin’s technology sector requires specialized collection strategies:

✅ Tesla — Gigafactory and headquarters employ thousands of engineers, executives, and manufacturing workers. Stock compensation and bonuses are discoverable through post-judgment discovery.

✅ Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon — Major operations in Austin with high-income tech workers. West Coast salary levels with Texas cost of living create substantial bank account balances.

✅ Dell Technologies — Round Rock-based company with thousands of employees throughout the Austin metro.

✅ Samsung — Major semiconductor fabrication facility with engineering and technical employment.

✅ Startup equity — Austin’s startup ecosystem means many tech workers have equity in private companies discoverable through interrogatories and potentially reachable through turnover orders.

Tech workers’ combination of high salaries (flowing through bank accounts), stock compensation (discoverable and potentially reachable), and lifestyle purchases (Lake Travis properties, boats, vehicles) creates multiple collection angles despite the no-garnishment rule.

⚡ Energy Services Sector

Beyond oil and gas production, Texas’s energy services sector creates collection targets:

✅ Oilfield services — Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, and hundreds of service companies have Houston-area operations. Equipment fleets worth millions of dollars represent attachable business assets.

✅ Pipeline companies — Pipeline operators have valuable infrastructure and easement rights.

✅ Refineries and petrochemicals — Houston Ship Channel refineries and petrochemical plants employ thousands at premium wages.

✅ Energy trading — Houston’s energy trading companies employ traders and executives with significant compensation that flows through bank accounts.

📦 Logistics and Distribution

Texas’s central location drives logistics industry collection opportunities:

✅ Trucking companies — Texas’s extensive trucking industry includes companies with valuable equipment fleets. A mid-size trucking company may have $2-10 million in trucks and trailers.

✅ Owner-operators — Independent truckers own commercial vehicles (semi-trucks $100,000-$200,000+) that may exceed personal property exemption room.

✅ Distribution centers — Amazon, Walmart, and retailers operate massive distribution facilities throughout Texas.

✅ Freight brokers — Freight brokerage businesses have valuable customer relationships and accounts receivable.

🛒 Retail and Restaurant

Texas’s growing population drives retail and hospitality:

✅ Restaurant chains — Texas-based restaurant groups (Brinker, Landry’s) and franchise owners have valuable business interests.

✅ Car dealerships — Dealership owners have valuable inventory, real estate, and franchise rights.

✅ Retail businesses — Inventory, fixtures, and commercial real estate represent collection targets.

✅ Entertainment venues — Dance halls, music venues, and entertainment businesses have valuable licenses, equipment, and real estate.

📋 Turnover Statute Strategy

Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 31.002 is a powerful collection tool:

✅ Court-ordered turnover — Courts can order debtors to turn over non-exempt property that cannot be readily attached through normal execution.

✅ Receiver appointment — Courts can appoint a receiver to take possession of the debtor’s property and business to satisfy the judgment.

✅ Business interests — LLC membership interests, partnership interests, and corporate stock are reachable through turnover.

✅ Accounts receivable — Debtors can be ordered to turn over rights to payment from their customers.

✅ Royalty interests — Oil and gas royalty payments can be ordered turned over pending receipt.

The turnover statute is essential in Texas given the no-garnishment rule. A well-drafted turnover motion with supporting discovery can reach assets that would otherwise be difficult to execute upon.

❓ FAQ

🔹 How long to collect?

10 years, renewable for additional 10-year periods through timely renewal. Abstract of judgment liens also expire after 10 years and must be renewed to maintain lien priority on real property.

🔹 Can I garnish wages?

NO — Texas constitutionally prohibits wage garnishment for most civil judgments. This is one of the strongest wage protections in the nation. Critical exceptions exist for child support, spousal support, federal taxes, and student loans. Military wages ARE garnishable through DFAS federal procedures.

🔹 What is the homestead?

UNLIMITED value but limited to 10 acres in an urban area (city or town) or 100 acres for a single adult / 200 acres for a family in rural areas. This makes the Texas primary residence virtually untouchable regardless of value.

🔹 Can I collect on mineral interests?

Yes — mineral rights are real property interests that are subject to judgment liens when abstracts are filed in the county where the minerals are located. Mineral interests are NOT part of the homestead exemption and are fully exposed to creditors.

🔹 What about military wages?

Yes — military wages ARE garnishable through DFAS under federal law, even though Texas civilian wages are protected.

📞 Get Professional Help

Whether you need to locate a debtor, discover assets, or identify non-exempt property, professional services are essential in Texas’s challenging debtor-friendly environment.

✅ Skip Tracing — ✅ Asset Search — ✅ Judgment Recovery

Last updated . Consult a licensed Texas attorney for specific advice.