You won. Now what? Collecting a judgment in Texas.

Generally, no. Texas is one of the most debtor-protective states on wage garnishment. Article XVI, Section 28 of the Texas Constitution exempts current wages for personal services from garnishment, and the exemption applies broadly to most civil judgments. Limited exceptions: child and spousal support obligations can be enforced through wage withholding under Texas Family Code provisions; federal debts including federal income tax, federal student loans, and certain other federal obligations can be collected through wage levies notwithstanding the Texas exemption; and once wages have been paid and deposited into a bank account, the funds are no longer "current wages for personal services" and may be reachable through other tools subject to other exemptions. The practical consequence: a typical Texas civil judgment cannot be collected by garnishing the debtor's paycheck — making Texas collection materially different from collection in states that permit wage garnishment.

The Texas homestead exemption is one of the most generous in the United States, established by Article XVI, Section 51 of the Texas Constitution and elaborated in Chapter 41 of the Texas Property Code. It protects an unlimited dollar value of homestead property. Acreage limits: 10 acres for an urban homestead, 100 acres for a rural single-person homestead, 200 acres for a rural family homestead. The unlimited dollar protection means a Texas family home worth $5 million on 9 urban acres receives the same protection as a $200,000 home on a half-acre lot. Limited exceptions where the homestead can still be reached: purchase money obligations (the mortgage used to acquire the property); taxes assessed on the homestead; mechanics' liens for work done on the homestead; court-ordered partition; properly executed home equity loans subject to specific Texas constitutional requirements; reverse mortgages. Outside these exceptions, a judgment creditor cannot force the sale of a Texas homestead — regardless of how large the judgment or how valuable the property.

A powerful Texas-specific post-judgment collection tool authorized by Section 31.002 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The statute permits a court to enter an order requiring the judgment debtor to turn over non-exempt property to a sheriff, constable, or court-appointed receiver for application toward the judgment. The turnover statute is broader than traditional execution remedies in several respects: it reaches property that cannot easily be reached by writ of execution, including intangible property, contract rights, accounts receivable, and property located outside Texas; it permits the court to appoint a receiver to take possession of the debtor's non-exempt property and liquidate it; it can compel the debtor to deliver specific property to the court. The turnover statute does not override the Texas exemptions — homestead, current wages, exempt personal property, and protected retirement accounts remain protected. Within those limits, it is often the difference between an uncollectible judgment and a collected one.

Ten years from the date of rendition, with the ability to renew. Section 34.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code provides that a judgment becomes dormant if a writ of execution is not issued within ten years, and remains dormant unless revived. The judgment can be revived by issuing a writ of execution before the ten-year period expires, or by filing a new abstract of judgment. Properly maintained, a Texas judgment can remain enforceable indefinitely. A judgment lien created by recording an abstract also lasts ten years from the date of the underlying judgment, with the same renewal mechanism. The practical implication: a Texas plaintiff who has obtained a judgment but cannot immediately collect should focus on (a) recording an abstract in every county where the debtor owns real property to attach a judgment lien, and (b) tracking the ten-year period to ensure timely renewal. A judgment that lapses by inattention is significantly harder to revive than one that has been maintained throughout. Out-of-state judgments can be domesticated in Texas through the Texas Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act.

Generally not directly. Under Section 101.112 of the Texas Business Organizations Code (LLCs) and Section 153.256 (LPs), a creditor with a judgment against an individual owner of a Texas LLC or LP can obtain a charging order against the owner's economic interest in the entity. A charging order is a lien on distributions that would otherwise be paid to the debtor-owner — not management rights, not ownership rights, and not the ability to compel distributions. If the entity does not make distributions, the charging order produces nothing. The Texas BOC also generally provides that the charging order is the exclusive remedy of a judgment creditor against the owner's interest in a Texas LLC or LP — meaning the creditor cannot foreclose on the interest, force a sale, or pierce through to the entity's underlying assets. This statutory protection is one of the reasons Texas LLCs and LPs are commonly used for asset protection planning. Reaching the entity's underlying assets requires proving alter ego, that piercing the corporate veil is appropriate, or that the entity itself was a fraudulent transferee. None of these are easy.

Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 621a permits a judgment creditor to use the standard discovery tools — depositions, interrogatories, requests for production, requests for admission — to obtain information about the debtor's financial condition, property, accounts, and ability to pay. Effective use produces information about: bank accounts and balances; real property holdings, including in counties where no abstract has been filed; ownership interests in Texas and out-of-state business entities; receivables and contractual rights; vehicles, equipment, and other titled property; safe deposit boxes; and any pattern of recent transfers that may suggest fraudulent transfer issues. The discovery process is also the principal mechanism for identifying which collection tools should be deployed against which assets. Skipping or under-using post-judgment discovery is one of the most common reasons judgments go uncollected — the creditor knows the debtor "has money" but cannot prove what or where, and tools deployed without that information often produce nothing.

An abstract of judgment is a document that, when properly recorded in the real property records of a Texas county, creates a judgment lien on the debtor's non-exempt real property in that county. Governed by Chapter 52 of the Texas Property Code, it is one of the foundational tools of Texas collection practice. Recording an abstract creates a lien against non-exempt property as of the date of recording, providing the creditor with priority over later liens and a basis for forced sale. The abstract should be recorded in every county where the debtor is known or suspected to own real property. The lien is effective for ten years from the date of the underlying judgment and can be renewed. The abstract does not, by itself, force a sale — the creditor must still pursue execution or other tools to convert the lien into actual recovery. But it is often the most cost-effective first step in collection: it costs little, attaches non-exempt real property, and frequently produces voluntary payment when the debtor seeks to sell or refinance affected property. The abstract does not attach to homestead property — the homestead exemption operates independently — but it does attach to investment real estate, second homes, commercial property, and any other non-exempt real property in the county where it is recorded.

Collection effort costs money — attorney's fees, filing fees, receiver fees if appointed, time and attention. Where reachable assets are limited, the cost can exceed the recovery. Several factual patterns suggest careful evaluation: the debtor's only significant asset is a Texas homestead protected by the constitutional exemption; income is from current wages, which are exempt from garnishment; business interests are held through Texas LLCs or LPs subject to charging-order-only protection, and the entities make no distributions; the debtor has filed bankruptcy, which stays collection efforts and may discharge the underlying obligation; significant non-exempt assets have been transferred well in advance of the judgment, raising fraudulent transfer questions but requiring litigation to unwind; the debtor has relocated assets out of state to creditor-friendly jurisdictions. None are necessarily fatal, but each suggests careful evaluation before significant additional cost is incurred. Plaintiffs who pursue every judgment to the limit of available remedies often spend more chasing collection than the recovery is worth. Plaintiffs who write off too early leave money on the table that systematic post-judgment work would have collected.