Houston Judgment Enforcement & Collection Attorneys

Won a Judgment but Still Haven't Been Paid? We Help Texas Creditors Collect.

A court judgment doesn't pay itself. You won your case, the court ruled in your favor, and the other side still hasn't paid. The calls and emails go unanswered. The payment you were promised never arrives.

Texas law gives you a range of tools to collect, but using them well takes strategy and follow-through. Texas also protects more debtor property than most states, so the order in which you use those tools matters.

The judgment collection attorneys at Hendershot Cowart P.C. pursue every available remedy on your behalf – from locking down a lien on the debtor's real estate, to finding hidden assets, to enforcing judgments from other states.

Call us at (713) 783-3110 to start collecting what you're owed.

On This Page:

• What Is Judgment Enforcement?
• Do I Need a Judgment Enforcement Attorney?
• Before You Collect: Pre-Enforcement Considerations
• How We Help You Collect What You're Owed
• What Is an Abstract of Judgment in Texas?
• Collecting a Judgment From a Texas Business or LLC Owner
• Domesticating an Out-of-State or Foreign Judgment in Texas
• What Happens If the Debtor Still Doesn't Pay?
• Why Hendershot Cowart P.C.
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Judgment Enforcement?

When a Texas court awards you money, also known as damages, you become a judgment creditor, and the party who owes you becomes a judgment debtor. The court doesn't collect the money for you. That responsibility – and the legal tools to make it happen – belong to you.

Judgment enforcement is the process of using those tools to turn a court order into actual payment. The main tools include:

• Post-judgment discovery, which requires the debtor to disclose assets under oath
• Abstracts of judgment, which create a lien on the debtor's real estate
• Writs of execution, which direct a sheriff or constable to seize and sell property
• Writs of garnishment, which reach money a third party holds for the debtor, such as a bank account
• Turnover orders and receivers, which compel the debtor to hand over assets that are harder to reach

A Texas judgment stays enforceable as long as you keep it active. If a writ of execution isn't issued within 10 years, the judgment goes dormant, though it can be revived within two years after that.

Do I Need a Judgment Enforcement Attorney?

Most judgment debtors don't pay simply because they're asked to. Collecting usually means finding the debtor's assets, choosing the right judgment enforcement tool, and following Texas procedure precisely so a court will grant it.

Here are a few reasons to have an attorney handle your judgment collection:

• Debtors don't volunteer information. Locating bank accounts, real estate, and other nonexempt assets typically requires formal post-judgment discovery, including depositions, written questions, and document requests.
• The tools have to be used correctly. Garnishment, for example, is a separate lawsuit with strict procedural requirements. A writ filed without knowing whether funds are in the account can leave you responsible for the bank's attorney's fees with nothing to show for it.
• Texas exemptions are broad. A debtor's homestead, current wages, and a large share of personal property are protected. An attorney can tell you early which assets are reachable and which aren't.
• Some debtors try to move assets out of reach. If a debtor transfers property to avoid paying you, that may be a fraudulent transfer, and unwinding it requires its own legal action.
• Ignoring court orders has consequences. Debtors who disobey a turnover order or a court-ordered deposition can face contempt of court. An attorney knows how to use those court orders to keep pressure on a debtor who isn't paying.
• Out-of-state debtors and judgments follow a different process. If your judgment came from another state, or the debtor's assets are outside Texas, the steps change. See Domesticating an Out-of-State or Foreign Judgment in Texas below.

Before You Collect: Pre-Enforcement Considerations

Before we take action on your judgment, we work through a handful of questions that shape every step that follows. The answers tell us which tools will work, which ones would waste your money, and how quickly we need to move.

Is Your Judgment Final and Ready to Enforce?

A Texas judgment is final when it resolves all claims against all parties. Once it's signed, the debtor has 30 days to file a post-trial motion or post a bond to suspend enforcement. During that 30-day window, you generally can't get a writ of execution.

That doesn't mean you wait. Even during those first 30 days, you can typically record an abstract of judgment, seek a writ of garnishment, and start turnover proceedings – unless the debtor posts an approved bond. Moving early protects your place in line ahead of other creditors.

If the debtor appeals and posts a bond or other security, collection generally pauses while the appeal plays out. That bond protects you: if the appeal fails, it secures payment of the judgment. In cases with more than one defendant, we check whether each debtor has posted adequate security, since a bond that covers one defendant may not stop collection against the others.

How Much Time Is Left on the Clock?

A Texas judgment goes dormant if a writ of execution isn't issued within 10 years of the judgment, or within 10 years of the last writ. A dormant judgment can be revived, but only if you act within two years of it going dormant. Miss that window, and the judgment can't be enforced.

Your judgment lien depends on that same clock. A lien created by an abstract of judgment lasts 10 years from the date it's recorded, and it ends if the judgment goes dormant.

For more on these deadlines, see our related article, How Long Does a Judgment Last in Texas?

What Does the Debtor Own, and Where Is It?

Debtors rarely hand over a list of their assets. Texas gives judgment creditors broad discovery rights after judgment – any information that could help you find assets is fair game. That can include:

• Depositions – questioning the debtor under oath about income, accounts, and property
• Written questions and document requests – bank statements, tax returns, business records, and vehicle and property titles
• Subpoenas to third parties – banks, business partners, and others who hold the debtor's money or records

Starting discovery early matters. The sooner you identify assets, the less time the debtor has to move or spend them.

What Property Is Off-Limits?

Texas is one of the most debtor-friendly states in the country, so knowing what you can't reach is as important as knowing what you can. State law protects a debtor's homestead, current wages, most retirement accounts, and a substantial amount of personal property. Bank accounts, nonexempt real estate, business assets, and investment property are often within reach.

Early in every matter, we sort the debtor's assets into what's protected and what isn't. If most of what a debtor owns is protected, that changes the strategy and the cost-benefit math – and we'll tell you so up front.

For a closer look at what Texas protects, see our related article, Defendant Won't Pay a Judgment in Texas? How to Collect.

Are Assets Moving, or Is Bankruptcy on the Horizon?

Watch for signs that a debtor is moving assets out of reach – transfers to family members, a new company serving the same customers, or property sold for far less than it's worth. The Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act lets creditors challenge those transfers and recover the assets. Learn more about fraudulent transfers in Texas.

Bankruptcy is the other major risk. The moment a debtor files for bankruptcy, federal law automatically stops all collection activity, including garnishments, writs of execution, and lien enforcement. Your claim then moves to the bankruptcy court, where different rules and priorities apply. Learn more about our bankruptcy and creditor's rights work.

Is Collection Worth the Cost?

Not every judgment justifies every tool. We weigh the amount you're owed against what the debtor actually owns, how much is protected, and what each step will cost. Texas law lets a creditor recover reasonable attorney's fees in turnover proceedings, which can change that math. In other cases, a negotiated settlement or payment plan gets you paid faster and for less.

We start by asking, "What's a win for you?" – full payment, a quick resolution, or steady pressure on a debtor who's been ignoring you. Then we build the plan around that answer.

How We Help You Collect What You're Owed

Every collection strategy depends on what the debtor owns, where they live, and how they've responded so far. Our judgment collection attorneys can:

• Record an abstract of judgment in every Texas county where the debtor owns real estate, creating a lien that must be addressed before the property can be sold or refinanced
• Serve post-judgment discovery, requiring the debtor and third parties to disclose assets, income, and finances under oath
• Request a writ of execution, directing the sheriff or constable to seize and sell the debtor's nonexempt property at public auction
• Request a writ of garnishment to collect directly from the debtor's bank accounts and other funds a third party holds for the debtor
• Seek a turnover order for assets that are hard to reach through a lien or garnishment, such as accounts receivable, stock in a closely held company, or royalty payments
• Ask the court to appoint a receiver – a neutral party with authority to take control of the debtor's nonexempt assets, sell them, and pay you from the proceeds
• Pursue a charging order against a debtor's ownership interest in an LLC or partnership
• Challenge fraudulent transfers when the debtor has moved assets to avoid paying you
• Handle the required exemption notices. When property is frozen or seized, Texas requires the creditor to provide an individual debtor with specific, court-approved forms within three business days. Mistakes here can delay or derail a sale.
• Negotiate a settlement or payment plan when that serves your interests better than continued collection efforts

We build a plan around your specific judgment, not a one-size-fits-all checklist.

What Is an Abstract of Judgment in Texas?

An abstract of judgment is a certified summary of your judgment, prepared by the court clerk. The judgment itself isn't a lien on the debtor's property. Recording the abstract is what creates one.

Once it's recorded in a county's real property records, the abstract creates a lien on all of the debtor's nonexempt real estate in that county – including property the debtor buys later. It's often the first step we take, because it's one of the least expensive and it protects your position against other creditors.

How an Abstract of Judgment Works

Here's how the process works:

1. Request the abstract. The creditor or the creditor's attorney applies to the clerk of the court that issued the judgment. The clerk prepares and certifies the abstract.
2. Confirm the required details. State law requires the abstract to include information such as the names of the parties, the court, the date of the judgment, the amount owed, and the interest rate. Missing or incorrect information can undermine the lien.
3. Record it in each county. The county clerk records the abstract in the real property records and indexes it under the names of both parties. A lien only applies in the county where the abstract is recorded, so we record it in every county where the debtor owns – or is likely to buy – real estate.

Judgments from federal courts in Texas can be recorded the same way.

What Happens When the Debtor Sells or Refinances

A recorded abstract shows up in a title search. In practice, that means a debtor usually can't sell or refinance nonexempt real estate without paying your judgment or negotiating a release. If the debtor won't cooperate, you can enforce the lien through an execution sale of the property or a separate foreclosure lawsuit.

What an Abstract of Judgment Can't Do

• It doesn't attach to the debtor's homestead. The lien reaches only nonexempt real estate.
• It doesn't attach to personal property. In Texas, a judgment lien applies only to real estate. Personal property is reached through execution, garnishment, or turnover.
• It doesn't last forever. The lien lasts 10 years from the date it's recorded and ends if the judgment goes dormant.
• It may not survive bankruptcy. A debtor in bankruptcy can sometimes remove a judgment lien to the extent it interferes with a protected exemption.

Collecting a Judgment From a Texas Business or LLC Owner

Many of the judgments we help enforce involve a business on one side or both. Whether you can reach the business's assets, the owner's assets, or both depends on whom the judgment is against.

When Your Judgment Is Against the Business

If the company itself owes you, you can pursue its assets directly – business bank accounts, accounts receivable, equipment, inventory, and real estate. The Texas wage exemption protects employees, not employers. Money sitting in a company's bank account to cover payroll can generally be garnished.

A judgment against a company doesn't automatically reach its owners' personal assets. To hold an owner personally responsible, you'd need to pierce the corporate veil (ask a court to disregard the company as a separate entity). In contract cases, Texas law sets a high bar: you must show the owner used the company to commit an actual fraud primarily for the owner's direct personal benefit. Even if the business never had enough cash to cover its debts, courts won’t hold the owner personally responsible on that basis alone.

When Your Judgment Is Against an Owner

If your judgment is against an individual who owns an interest in an LLC or partnership, the rules change. Under the Texas Business Organizations Code, a charging order is the exclusive remedy against the debtor's ownership interest. A charging order is a lien on any distributions the company pays to the debtor. It doesn't let you seize the ownership interest or step into management.

You also can't use a turnover order to strip the LLC of its own assets just because the debtor owns or controls it. In Maiz v. Virani (2002), the Fifth Circuit held that a court must first formally pierce the corporate veil before ordering an LLC's assets turned over for a member's debt.

Domesticating an Out-of-State or Foreign Judgment in Texas

If the judgment debtor or their assets are in Texas, but your judgment came from another state or a federal court outside Texas, you don't have to file a new lawsuit to collect here. The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act lets you register that judgment with a Texas court and enforce it using the same tools available for a judgment entered in Texas.

In general, the process involves:

1. Filing an authenticated copy of your judgment with a Texas court, along with an affidavit listing the parties' names and last known addresses
2. Notifying the debtor that the judgment has been filed in Texas
3. Waiting out the debtor’s 30-day window to challenge it. Texas treats a properly filed out-of-state judgment like a newly entered Texas judgment, so the debtor generally has 30 days from the filing to ask the court to set it aside.

A debtor can't relitigate the underlying case. Once your out-of-state judgment is properly filed in Texas, the law treats it the same as a Texas judgment. A debtor can only challenge it on limited grounds, such as the original court lacking jurisdiction, improper service, or fraud in how the judgment was obtained. If they don't raise a valid challenge in time, the judgment becomes enforceable through every collection tool described above.

Timing matters. You generally have 10 years from the date of the original judgment to domesticate it in Texas. Once it's domesticated, Texas's 10-year enforcement clock starts from the date of domestication.

Judgments from federal courts in Texas don't need to be domesticated. Judgments from other countries do, and they follow a different, more involved process, since they aren't automatically entitled to the same recognition as judgments from U.S. courts.

For more detail, see our related article, Enforcing Out-of-State and Foreign Judgments in Texas.

What Happens If the Debtor Still Doesn't Pay?

A judgment debtor who ignores a valid judgment doesn't escape it. Unpaid judgments keep accruing interest, can damage the debtor's credit for years, and expose the debtor to escalating consequences as each collection tool is used – including contempt of court for disobeying a turnover order or other court order.

Wondering whether a debtor can go to jail for not paying, or how hard Texas judgments are to collect? Read the full breakdown in our related article, Defendant Won't Pay a Judgment in Texas? How to Collect.

Why Hendershot Cowart P.C.

We litigate, and we collect. Many judgment creditors come to us after winning a case with another firm. Others are clients whose business disputes we've handled from the first demand letter. Because our attorneys handle business litigation and collections under one roof, we think about collectability before the judgment is signed – not after.

We've been doing this since 1987. For nearly 40 years, Hendershot Cowart P.C. has represented Texas businesses in disputes over money owed. In the past five years alone, we've resolved more than 900 business disputes and litigation matters.

We explain the plan and the cost before you commit. You'll know which tools we recommend, why, and what the first step will cost before you sign anything.

Call us at (713) 783-3110 to talk through your judgment with a Houston judgment collection attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does judgment collection take?

It depends on what the debtor owns and how they respond. If discovery turns up a bank account with funds, collection can move in weeks. If the debtor's assets are hard to reach, hidden, or tied up in a business, it can take months or even years, especially if the debtor appeals, contests an exemption, or files for bankruptcy. 

Can you collect a judgment another firm won?

Yes. You don't need to use the firm that tried your case to collect on it. We'll review the judgment, confirm that it's final and still active, check whether an abstract has been recorded or any collection steps have already been taken, and build a plan from there.

How much does it cost to hire a judgment collection attorney?

That depends on which tools the case calls for. We'll explain our fee arrangement and what the first step will cost before you sign anything, so you can weigh the cost against what you're likely to recover.

Can I recover the cost of collecting from the debtor?

In some cases. Texas law lets a judgment creditor recover reasonable costs, including attorney's fees, in turnover proceedings. Your original judgment may also include post-judgment interest and, depending on the underlying contract or claim, attorney's fees. We'll look at your judgment and tell you what may be recoverable.

What do I need to get started?

Less than you might think. Along with your judgment, it helps to have the debtor’s full legal name, whether the debtor is an individual or a business, and their last known address. That’s enough to get started, and we can fill in the rest from there.

One record can speed things up considerably: if you ever paid the debtor – under your contract or otherwise – check for a wire confirmation or invoice that lists their bank account number. With that information, we may be able to skip ahead and file a garnishment against that bank right away.

How long do I have to collect a judgment in Texas?

A Texas judgment stays enforceable as long as a writ of execution is issued at least once every 10 years. If 10 years pass without one, the judgment goes dormant. A dormant judgment can be revived, but only within two years of its dormancy. 

Learn more in How Long Does a Judgment Last in Texas?

How long does an abstract of judgment last in Texas?

The lien created by an abstract of judgment lasts 10 years from the date it's recorded. It also ends if the underlying judgment goes dormant. Keeping the judgment active, and the lien current, protects your position.

Can I still collect if the debtor doesn't seem to have any money right now?

Often, yes. Post-judgment discovery frequently uncovers assets a debtor didn't disclose voluntarily. A recorded abstract of judgment also attaches to nonexempt real estate the debtor acquires later, so your lien can secure payment from property the debtor doesn't own yet.

What if the debtor has already moved or hidden assets?

Transfers made to avoid paying a judgment creditor can often be unwound as fraudulent transfers under the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Read more in our related article, What Is a Fraudulent Transfer in Texas?

Talk to a Houston Judgment Collection Attorney

Collecting on a judgment takes persistence and the right strategy at each step. The sooner you act, the more options you keep – and the less time the debtor has to move assets out of reach.

Let us put our experience to work collecting what you're owed. Call us at (713) 783-3110 today, or request a consultation online.