Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Texas

What is a judgment?

A judgment is a decree by a court requiring the defendant to do something for the plaintiff (generally, pay the plaintiff money.

A plaintiff files a lawsuit. The Defendant(s) get served a copy of the lawsuit with a summons requiring an answer to be filed with the court and served on the Plaintiff's attorney - this is best handled by a lawyer who knows the rules of procedure.

If no answer is filed, the Plaintiff gets a judgment. The judgment becomes a lien on any real property you own and the creditor can perfect the lien (turn it into money) by foreclosure - forcing a sale of your real property.

The judgment can also be used to garnish your wages. Anything over $154.50 per week must be paid by your employer to the Plaintiff.

A judgment can also be used to force a sale of almost anything you own to convert it to cash to be paid to the Plaintiff. These sales are usually held by the sheriff and are called "sheriff's sales" which are glorified auctions.

No one can take or put a judgment against you unless (a) you do not answer a lawsuit or (b) it is ordered by a judge.

When a lawsuit is filed, most attorneys are willing to discuss settlement which means you pay something less than the full amount of the debt and the debt goes away.

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