Mechanism 17
Agreed judgment held and not executed upon
How do you secure a payment plan from a defaulting tenant without litigating again?
Take an agreed judgment and promise not to execute on it while payments are made. The strongest security a defaulting party can give is a judgment already signed. With a cure period, a per-instalment penalty, an indemnity if the creditor executes early and a mandatory release five business days after payoff, both sides are protected — and performance follows, because the alternative is already on file.
By John P. Henry · Tex. R. Civ. P. 11 — instrument drafting · Reviewed 2026-08-02
The authority
Tex. R. Civ. P. 11 — instrument drafting
When it applies
Structured settlements with a party who has some ability to pay over time but no assets worth chasing today. It converts a collection problem into an administrative one.
How it is proved up
- Agreed judgment signed and entered, with a forbearance agreement running alongside it.
- A cure period, so a late payment is a curable event rather than an immediate execution.
- A per-instalment penalty that makes lateness cost more than paying on time.
- An indemnity running to the debtor if the creditor executes while payments are current — this is what makes the deal signable.
- A mandatory release of judgment filed within a stated number of business days after payoff. Put the deadline in the instrument; do not leave it to good faith.
What defeats it
- A debtor with no income at all, for whom no structure works.
- A creditor who will not wait, in which case take the judgment and enforce.
- Sloppy drafting — an unclear cure period or an unclear release obligation turns the arrangement into its own dispute.
Where I have used it
Tanning salon and its personal guarantor, County Court at Law No. 4. A $16,459.18 demand became $38,500 over nineteen payments, secured this way. Paid.
Questions
What is a forbearance agreement on a judgment?
A contract in which the judgment creditor agrees not to execute on a judgment so long as the debtor performs a payment schedule. It leaves the judgment in place as security while giving the debtor a defined path to a release.
Should a judgment be abstracted if the debtor is paying?
That is a negotiated point. Abstracting creates a lien that will encumber the debtor's property and can defeat a refinancing that would pay you faster. Many of these agreements provide that no abstract issues while payments are current.
When must a release of judgment be filed in Texas?
There is no universal deadline, which is exactly why the obligation and its timing belong in the agreement. Specifying a fixed number of business days after payoff avoids the most common post-payment dispute.