Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.
If contacting someone to get them to pay the debt has not worked, a debt collector may choose to file a lawsuit. The debt collector has a certain amount of time to file the suit, called the "statute of limitations." In Texas, the statute of limitations for debt is 4 years. After that time passes, a collector can no longer file a lawsuit to collect the debt.
If the creditor or debt collector wins the lawsuit, they will obtain a court judgment. That judgment can be enforced in various ways. In some cases, a person may not have enough money or assets that a credit could claim. This is commonly called being "judgment proof."
Certain types of money and property are protected in a debt collection lawsuit and cannot be taken by the creditor. Texas court rules require the debtor be provided with notice about their protected property rights.
If a creditor takes protected property, a debtor can take legal action against them to get it back.
In Texas, wage garnishment is prohibited by the Texas Constitution except for a few kinds of debt:
A debt collector cannot garnish your wages for ordinary debts.
However, Texas allows for a bank account to be frozen. Once wages are deposited into a bank account, the funds can be frozen and possibly seized. In order to do this, a debt collector must have won the lawsuit and had an order issued by the court. This can be confusing because the order is called a "writ of garnishment" but it still cannot be used to take incoming wages.
If a piece of property is put up as collateral for a loan, this is called a "secured transaction." The collateral may be repossessed if the debtor does not pay as they are supposed to, even without a court order. The information below explains when property may be repossessed for unpaid debts.
If you own a house or land in Texas, a creditor who sues you for debt and wins can place a "judgment lien" on your real property. If you sell the property, they may be able to take the money they are owed from the proceeds of the sale. "Homestead" property, meaning your primary place of residence, may be exempt from judgment liens.
A judgment lien in Texas lasts for ten years (unless the debt was owed to a government agency).
Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.