You Can Seize a Judgment Debtor's Personal Property to Satisfy Your Judgment

A writ of execution in Texas does allow you to take possession of your judgment debtor’s non-exempt property and sell it with the proceeds being applied to pay your judgment.  The property you can confiscate consists of any non-exempt personal property of your judgment debtor.  Personal property is any kind of movable property owned by the judgment debtor.  However, personal property does not include money or investments.  And, obviously, personal property doesn’t include real estate.

Taking Possession of Personal Property

The method by which the sheriff levies on your judgment debtor’s interest in personal property depends on the exact character of the judgment debtor’s interest in the property. More precisely, it depends on whether the judgment debtor is entitled to actual possession of the personal property.

If the judgment debtor is entitled to physical possession of the property and actually has possession, the sheriff levies on the property by merely taking possession of it.  If, on the other hand, the judgment debtor’s interest in the personal property is a non-possessory interest, the sheriff must give notice to the individual who is entitled to possession of the property (Tex. R. Civ. P. 639).  Nevertheless, the fact that your judgment debtor is not entitled to possession of the personal property won’t stop you from foreclosing on his interest in that property.

Selling Personal Property to Pay Your Judgment

After the sheriff has taken possession of your judgment debtor’s personal property under a writ of execution, the process starts for the sale of that property.  Texas law permits seized personal property to be sold at the place where it was taken, on the steps of the courthouse in the county where the property is situated or at another place if that location is more convenient for exhibiting the property to purchasers because of the nature of the property itself.

Prior to having the sale, the sheriff must publish a notice of the sale at the courthouse door and in the location where the sale is to occur (Tex. R. Civ. P. 649).  The notice must be posted for ten successive days immediately prior to the sale.

If the judgment debtor only has an interest in the property but not the right of possession of the property, the personal property being sold won’t have to be shown at the sale.  But, if the judgment debtor has the right of sole possession of the personal property in question, that property cannot be sold without being presented for viewing by those attending the sale.

After the sheriff sells the judgment debtor’s personal property to the top bidder, he releases possession of that property to the winner.  If the property sold was not property to which the judgment debtor had the right of sole possession, the sheriff presents the winner a bill of sale proving that the winner now has the same interest as previously held by the judgment debtor.  Needless to say, the cash paid by the successful bidder are turned over to you to apply to the outstanding amount of your judgment.