Abstracts

An abstract of judgment is a document that contains pertinent information contained in the judgment, such as the judgment amount, the date the judgment was rendered, and the identifying parties. The District Clerks office or the attorney prepares this document, and when filed with the County Clerks office places a lien on the defendant’s real property. This judgment lien continues for 10 years after the date of recording, and must be renewed afterwards to continue on. The fee to request this abstract is $8 per abstract, and the request form is located on the District Clerks website. You may purchase as many abstracts as needed, and one must be filed in each county in which there is real property.

Executions

A Writ of Execution is a process issued by the District Clerk, which orders the Sheriff to collect a judgment against a defendant. The sheriff collects either money or sells property belonging to the defendant for as much of the judgment as possible. The execution is returnable in up to 90 days, and only one execution can be issued at a time. If after 90 days, the judgment is not paid, another can be requested. An execution can only be issued after 30 days of a final judgment, and cannot be issued if there is a bankruptcy in progress. There are several types of executions such as one for money, possession, sale of a particular property, delivery of certain property, and possession of certain property. The cost for an execution is $8, and the request for this can also be found on the District Clerk’s website. Once the Execution is prepared, it is forwarded to the requesting party, who in turn coordinates with the Sheriff or Constables office in getting it served. If an execution is not issued within 10 years of the previous one, it goes dormant and cannot be reissued unless renewed by the Court.

Withholding Orders

The easiest way to make sure your child support payments are made as required by your court order, is to have the payment withheld from the obligor’s paycheck through a Withholding Order. A withholding order actually orders the obligor’s employer to withhold part of the obligor’s paycheck, and forward it to the Child Support registry, to be credited toward the obligor’s child support obligation. A court is required to sign a withholding order in every case where child support is ordered. However, in some cases, the parties can agree not to have the withholding order served on the employer. If the withholding order is not served on the employer, then the child support will not be withheld from the Obligor’s paycheck, and the Obligor will have to make the payment each time the payment is due. The signed Employer’s Order to Withhold will remain in the court file, and will be available if either party prefers to have the child support withheld in the future. Texas Family Code, Section 154.007.