Judgment from WA, another court hearing to garnish in TX.Truth or scam?

[MOlass]

Hi. I have a court judgment fromWashington state and I'm trying to collect that judgment. It turns out the party who owes me money moved to Texas. I thought that garnishing their wages would be as simple as a document filed with sheriffs department in TX where they live but I was told by the collection agency that I have to go to court all over again in TX for a judge to allow wage garnishment. They want big money and I'm wondering if I'm being taken advantage of or if it is true that I cannot use an out-of-state judgment in Texas and simply have the wages garnished. Thank you for your advice

 

[LdiJ]

Hi. I have a court judgment fromWashington state and I'm trying to collect that judgment. It turns out the party who owes me money moved to Texas. I thought that garnishing their wages would be as simple as a document filed with sheriffs department in TX where they live but I was told by the collection agency that I have to go to court all over again in TX for a judge to allow wage garnishment. They want big money and I'm wondering if I'm being taken advantage of or if it is true that I cannot use an out-of-state judgment in Texas and simply have the wages garnished. Thank you for your advice

Google: "Does TX allow garnishment of wages for debt judgment?"

Apparently TX only allows garnishment of wages in very particular circumstances.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Hi. I have a court judgment fromWashington state and I'm trying to collect that judgment. It turns out the party who owes me money moved to Texas. I thought that garnishing their wages would be as simple as a document filed with sheriffs department in TX where they live but I was told by the collection agency that I have to go to court all over again in TX for a judge to allow wage garnishment. They want big money and I'm wondering if I'm being taken advantage of or if it is true that I cannot use an out-of-state judgment in Texas and simply have the wages garnished. Thank you for your advice

You aren't going to get a garnishment in Texas unless it is for child support, spousal support, student loans, or unpaid taxes. It is not allowed by law. I have no idea why the collection agency you had a chance unless they were going to scam you out of some upfront fee and then tell you the court refused.

 

[adjusterjack]

I was told by the collection agency that I have to go to court all over again in TX for a judge to allow wage garnishment. They want big money

You're being scammed.

Section 28 of Article 16 of the Texas Constitution prohibits wage garnishment for consumer debt and most other kinds of debt. There's also a statute that says that.

Unless you can find the debtor's bank account or valuable property to levy, you can pretty well forget enforcing your judgment in Texas.

Even if you could, you would still have to first register the judgment in Texas. Google Texas enforcement of foreign judgments.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Hi. I have a court judgment fromWashington state and I'm trying to collect that judgment. It turns out the party who owes me money moved to Texas. I thought that garnishing their wages would be as simple as a document filed with sheriffs department in TX where they live but I was told by the collection agency that I have to go to court all over again in TX for a judge to allow wage garnishment.

When you have a judgment in one state and need to enforce that judgment in another state, you don't file a new lawsuit in the new state. Instead, you file in that state's court to domesticate the judgment you already have. So here, you would file in the Texas courts to domesticate your Washington state judgment in order to pursue assets/income that the judgment debtor has in Texas. Domestication is a much cheaper and faster process than filing a whole new lawsuit. See Chapter 35 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

However, Texas law does not allow for wage garnishment for most private debts (other than child support/alimony and student loans). So domesticating the judgment won't allow you to attach whatever wages they are getting from their Texas employer. But if they have other non exempt assets or income in Texas, like bank accounts, real estate (other than what is protected by the homestead exemption), etc, you could pursue those after domesticating your judgment.

 

[zddoodah]

I'm wondering . . . if it is true that I cannot use an out-of-state judgment in Texas and simply have the wages garnished.

It is true. A judgment issued by a court in Washington is only enforceable in the State of Washington. You can take your Washington judgment to a Texas court and ask that court to issue a Texas judgment based on the Washington judgment, and you will then be able to enforce your Texas judgment in Texas. It's a fairly simple process that should not cost "big money." However, unlike Washington, Texas law does not allow wage garnishment for ordinary civil money judgments.

 

[adjusterjack]

MOlass, It is worth noting that Texas provides virtually unlimited protection against judgment creditors for a homestead (Texas Property Code 41.001)

Texas also prohibits attaching a lien to real property that is exempt from attachment under Section 41.001. (Texas Property Code 52.001)

The debtor's personal residence (if he owns one in Texas) is untouchable.

 

[quincy]

MOlass, does the judgment-debtor still have any property left in Washington?

Is the judgment-debtor apt to move from Texas anytime in the future?

Judgments in Washington last a long time (10 years plus option to renew). Although there is always a risk that a debtor will dispose of or hide assets or try in other ways (like moving) to avoid paying off the debt, few people can keep these avoidance tactics up for long. Holding off on collection attempts for awhile, in other words, could yield better results than you might have with domestication of the judgment in Texas.