View Full Version : I won a judgment against someone in Texas, can I levy their account
gdebeneditto
Feb 3, 2014, 10:29 AM
I won a judjement in Texas against someone.. can I levy their bank account? And if so, how many months back can they go to if the debtor tried to close or change the account in order to avoid the levy? I know in bankruptcy, if you try to change names of ownership or bank accounts, the court can go back to anything you changed in the last 6 months and is considered fraud or "hiding" assets in order to avoid legal obligbations to creditors... which is against the law.. furthermore, can I put a lien against someone's real estate after winning a judgement against them in the state of Texas
ScottGem
Feb 3, 2014, 11:26 AM
It depends on what the judgment was for. If you know where they bank, you can get the court to issue a writ of execution to seize the balance in their account at the time the writ is served. You may be able to get a writ to include future deposits.
Depending on the nature of the judgement you may be able to file a lien against his home, but that would be secondary to any mortgage he has and have to wait until he sells the property.
AK lawyer
Feb 14, 2014, 02:37 PM
how many months back can they go to if the debtor tried to close or change the account
It doesn't work that way. A writ of execution gives you only the amount that is in the account at the time of the levy.
Bankruptcy doesn't either, by-the-way. If a bankruptcy debtor gave away property to relatives and friends shortly before the bankruptcy filing, the trustee or creditors can try to recover this from whom it was given to, but it's not automatic. If funds were paid from the account, previous to the levy, to such insiders, you could perhaps sue them to recover the funds. But that is beyond the scope of an execution levy.