# Turnover order and post-judgment receiver Source: https://www.jhenrylaw.com/mechanism/turnover-order-post-judgment-receiver/ Author: John P. Henry, John Henry & Associates, PLLC Reviewed: 2026-08-02 **Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.002** ## How do I get a turnover order and a post-judgment receiver on a Texas judgment? Apply under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.002 on a showing that the judgment is final and unsatisfied and that the debtor owns nonexempt property that cannot readily be attached by ordinary process. In Murphy v. Liberty Hill Construction, Cause No. 25-0131-C26, the court appointed a receiver on May 27, 2026 after finding the debtors were dissipating their estate. They paid the judgment in full with interest rather than surrender to him. > The Court FINDS … The Judgment Debtors are presently engaged in the dissipation of their estate, including by offering substantial personal property for sale on Facebook Marketplace under Gregg Murphy's name, by executing intra-family warranty deeds the day after the Judgment was signed, and by failing to respond in any manner to LHC's properly served post-judgment discovery. — Order Granting Turnover Relief and Appointment of Post-Judgment Receiver, Cause No. 25-0131-C26, May 27, 2026 ## When it applies Any final, non-dormant, unsuperseded judgment that remains unsatisfied — and it is at its most effective where the debtor has begun moving assets, because the dissipation is itself the strongest part of the application. ## How it is proved up 1. Establish the predicate facts in a declaration: judgment signed and final, no supersedeas bond, motion for new trial overruled by operation of law, judgment wholly unsatisfied. 2. Serve post-judgment discovery first. A debtor who does not answer it has handed you the second finding the statute needs. 3. Document the dissipation with the actual artifacts — deed records showing the intra-family transfers, screenshots of the listings with dates and the account name. 4. Identify the property with specificity: real property by legal description, vehicles by VIN, accounts by institution, business interests by entity. 5. Ask for the injunction alongside the receivership, and for express authority to investigate and pursue fraudulent transfers. ## What defeats it - Exempt property. The turnover statute does not reach the homestead, exempt personal property or current wages, and an order that purports to reach it is error. - A supersedeas bond, which stops enforcement entirely. - Dormancy under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 34.001 if no writ issued within the statutory period. - Property that ordinary process can reach — the statute is for what a writ of execution cannot get at. ## Where I have used it Murphy — the day after judgment they executed intra-family warranty deeds on two properties and began selling equipment online. Receiver appointed over real property, vehicles, financial accounts, a business, and the listings themselves. They paid the judgment voluntarily and in full, with post-judgment interest, rather than surrender to him. ## The order Order Granting Judgment Creditor Liberty Hill Construction, LLC's Application for Turnover Order and Appointment of Post-Judgment Receiver — Gregg Murphy and Dayla Murphy v. Liberty Hill Construction, LLC and Thomas McGrath, 26th Judicial District Court, Williamson County, Texas, Cause No. 25-0131-C26, signed May 27, 2026. ``` CAUSE NO. 25-0131-C26 GREGG MURPHY and DAYLA MURPHY, Plaintiffs v. LIBERTY HILL CONSTRUCTION, LLC and THOMAS MCGRATH, Defendants IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS 26th JUDICIAL DISTRICT ORDER GRANTING JUDGMENT CREDITOR LIBERTY HILL CONSTRUCTION, LLC'S APPLICATION FOR TURNOVER ORDER AND APPOINTMENT OF POST-JUDGMENT RECEIVER On this day came on for consideration the Application for Turnover Order and Appointment of Post-Judgment Receiver (the "Application") filed by Judgment Creditor Liberty Hill Construction, LLC ("LHC") against Judgment Debtors Gregg Murphy and Dayla Murphy (the "Judgment Debtors") under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 31.002. The Court considered the Application, the Declaration of Thomas McGrath, the exhibits attached thereto, the response (if any) of the Judgment Debtors, the arguments of counsel, and the pleadings and papers on file in this cause. FINDINGS The Court FINDS as follows: 1. On March 4, 2026, the Court signed a Final Summary Judgment in favor of LHC and against the Judgment Debtors (the "Judgment"). The Judgment is final, is not dormant, and is not superseded. The Judgment Debtors have not posted a supersedeas bond or made any deposit in lieu of bond. The Judgment Debtors' motion for new trial was overruled by operation of law on May 18, 2026. The Judgment remains wholly unsatisfied. 2. LHC is a judgment creditor; this Court is a court of appropriate jurisdiction; the relief sought is to obtain satisfaction of the Judgment; and the Judgment Debtors own nonexempt real and personal property, including the property identified in the Application and the Declaration of Thomas McGrath. 3. The Judgment Debtors are presently engaged in the dissipation of their estate, including by offering substantial personal property for sale on Facebook Marketplace under Gregg Murphy's name, by executing intra-family warranty deeds the day after the Judgment was signed, and by failing to respond in any manner to LHC's properly served post-judgment discovery. [Page 1 ends. Transcript continues on the following pages of the order.] ``` ## Questions **What does a Texas turnover order do?** It orders the judgment debtor to turn over nonexempt property, including present or future rights to property, that cannot readily be attached or levied on by ordinary legal process. The court may also appoint a receiver and enjoin the debtor from transferring or disposing of the property. **Can a turnover order reach exempt property in Texas?** No. Section 31.002 reaches only nonexempt property. An order that requires turnover of exempt property — the homestead, exempt personal property, current wages — exceeds the statute. **Do I have to serve post-judgment discovery before applying for a receiver?** It is not a statutory prerequisite, but it is the practical one. A debtor's failure to answer properly served post-judgment discovery is direct evidence that the judgment cannot be satisfied through ordinary process, which is the finding the application needs. --- This page is an advertisement. Case results depend on the specific facts of each matter and do not predict a similar result in any other. Nothing here is legal advice.