Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Texas
I have a judgment against me from a former employer. I have been paying restitution for a couple years now. I have no property in my name except for a car I bought from a dealer and paid for in cash. I also bought a car from a private seller and the tax assessors said nothing when I went to get the title and name change.However, I purchased the car in a different county than where the judgment was filed. Last year my father died ( no will) and I will be selling his house (same county as judgment) after the affidavit of heirship has been filed through the title company. I do not have to go through probate as the property is worth so little or so I have been told. What I am wondering is could it be that just because the judgment has been filed, does that necessarily mean there is a lien as well? Could the title company check to see if there is an actual lean versus just the judgment. Would they be obligated to notify the company who has the judgment? And, could them looking to see if there is a lean, or going through probate or going to the county courthouse to see if there is a lien somehow trigger the company to be contacted so they can file a lean? Lastly, would running a credit report show me if there is a lien versus just a judgment? The state in which this occurred is Texas. Sorry, I know this is a lot, but I am trying to make sure that I cover all bases. Any advice would be appreciated.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You are asking some excellent questions.
Usually when someone takes a money judgment against you, he will have an "abstract of judgment" issued and will record it in one or more counties. If your employer did this, then all your questions are "answered," that is, the title company will come across the judgment when it does the title search, and you'll have to pay the judgment. The recording of an abstract of judgment creates a judgment lien on any non-exempt property that you own (or may later acquire).
You can go down to the county clerk's office and check on this (whether or not an abstract of judgment was recorded).
If it WASN'T, then there is always the possibility that a title search will somehow come across the judgment from the court records.
The title company (probably) won't notify your employer; they don't care about him. They WILL tell the prospective buyer about the judgment. Technically, there's no "judgment lien" if the AJ wasn't recorded.
A credit report will show whatever has been reported to the credit bureau, whether a debt has been reported, or a judgment, or an abstract of judgment.
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