How long after a judgment has been awarded can it be enforced?

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How long after a judgment has been awarded can it be enforced?

A few years ago I had to evict 2 separate tenants. I sued for stolen items and damages and won judgements in both cases. I never received a dime in either case. Is it too late to try to collect? Can I still file a lien or garnish wages at this point? Is there any other way to collect? Do I need a lawyer to do so?

Asked on June 14, 2015 under Real Estate Law, Texas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

The statute of limitations for enforcing a judgment in your state is 10 years, so you may take collections actions up to 10 years after the judgments were granted. You can garnish wages; put a lien on real estate; levy on a bank account (take money out of it); or execute on (have a court officer seize and sell) personal property, such as a car. You are not required to use an attorney, but its advised--these collections techniques are highly complicated procedurally, and its easy to either get them wrong (in which case nothing happens) or spend a disproportionate amount of time on them.


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