Mechanism 15

Fraudulent transfer

The judgment debtor deeded his house to a family member the day after judgment — what can be done?

It can be unwound. Under the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, a transfer made with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud a creditor — or made without reasonably equivalent value while insolvent — is voidable. The statutory badges of fraud include transfers to insiders and transfers made shortly after a substantial debt was incurred. Often the authority to investigate the transfer is enough to end the fight.

By John P. Henry · Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 24 (Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act) · Reviewed 2026-08-02

The authority

A transfer made or obligation incurred by a debtor is voidable as to a creditor … if the debtor made the transfer or incurred the obligation … with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor of the debtor. — Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 24.005(a)(1)Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 24 (Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act)

Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 24 (Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act)

When it applies

Post-judgment asset moves, insider transfers for no consideration, and transfers of receivables or accounts mid-stream. The badges of fraud in § 24.005(b) are a checklist, and a post-judgment intra-family deed satisfies several of them on its face.

How it is proved up

Pull the deed records and the entity filings and build the chain: who transferred what, to whom, on what date, for what stated consideration.
Line the transfer date up against the judgment date. A day-after transfer needs no argument.
Work the badges expressly — insider, retained possession or control, concealment, transfer of substantially all assets, insolvency, timing relative to the debt.
Build the remedy into the receivership order: express TUFTA authority to investigate and to pursue avoidance, so a separate suit is not the only path.
Where the transfer is in progress rather than complete, a temporary restraining order stops it while the record is built.

What defeats it

A good-faith transferee who gave reasonably equivalent value — a complete defense under § 24.009.
The statute of repose in § 24.010, which extinguishes claims not brought within the statutory periods.
A transfer that predates the creditor relationship and has no other badge attached.

Where I have used it

Murphy — the receivership carried express TUFTA authority over the post-judgment deeds. Separately, a 2012 Williamson County TRO froze a transfer of receivables mid-stream, which is what made the settlement below possible.

Questions

What are the 'badges of fraud' under Texas law?

Section 24.005(b) lists eleven factors, including whether the transfer was to an insider, whether the debtor retained possession or control, whether it was concealed, whether the debtor had been sued or threatened with suit, whether it was of substantially all the debtor's assets, and whether the debtor was insolvent or became insolvent shortly after.

How long do I have to bring a fraudulent transfer claim in Texas?

Section 24.010 sets the periods — generally four years after the transfer, or in the case of actual intent, within one year after the transfer was or reasonably could have been discovered, subject to the statute's terms.

Can a receiver pursue fraudulent transfer claims?

A post-judgment receiver appointed under § 31.002 can be given express authority in the order to investigate and pursue transfers of the debtor's property, which is materially faster than filing a separate avoidance action.