Texas Motion for Turnover orders require the debtor to turn assets over to the sheriff for sale.
One of our favorite tools for collecting debt is the motion for turnover which asks a court to order the debtor to turn over non-exempt assets to the sheriff for sale to satisfy the judgment. Sometimes, it is the only remedy that can push the debtor to settle with you.
Our basic approach in collecting your judgment is to force the debtor to interact with us and a motion for turnover is a very effective communication tool. The debtor will receive an order to appear in court which usually leads them to call us. Then they have to actually appear in court where we have another opportunity to speak with them. Once the motion for turnover has been issued, we have many more reasons to speak with them. This motion is a very effective tool for communicating with the debtor.
A formal hearing is the usual process for a motion for turnover. However, in unusual circumstances, we can present the motion for turnover to the judge without the debtor present (known as ex parte hearings). Normally, the judge will allow 30 days for the debtor to turn the assets over. The sheriff will then provide the proper notice to the public and sell the assets at auction.
A turnover proceeding can also be used to ask the court to put the debtor into a receivership.