You cannot go to jail for failure to pay a court judgment. Under Texas law, a debtor has certain protections. If you own or are buying your home, if cannot be taken away to pay a judgment, unless the judgment is for taxes, the mortgage on the home, or for a home-improvement loan on the home. This is the homestead law.
Texas law also allows you to have $30,000 worth of personal property that cannot be taken away from you to pay a debt. Personal property is anything but land. Texas has an additional law that protects your car, furniture, family pictures, pets and tools of your trade from being seized. These items are added together to reach the exemption. These items are not protected from seizure if they were used as collateral on a loan.
Wages cannot be garnished as a general rule. The Texas Supreme Court has held that once you deposit your wages in a checking account, they are no longer wages and can be taken.
RSS Feed
