A future interest in personalty may not be seized and sold but the lien of judgments shall attach thereto so as to prevent alienation before the right to present possession accrues.
§ 9-13-56.Future interests in personalty
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 3. Property Against Which Execution Levied · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-56 bars the seizure and sale of a future interest in personal property under execution, but lets the lien of a judgment attach to that future interest so as to prevent its alienation before the right to present possession arrives.
Full Text of § 9-13-56
Plain-English Summary
Not every interest a debtor holds can be turned into cash right away. A future interest in personal property — a right to possess or enjoy the property only later, once some earlier interest ends — cannot be seized and sold under execution while it remains future. There is nothing yet to hand a buyer at a sheriff's sale; the debtor's right has not ripened into present possession.
That does not leave the creditor without recourse. The judgment's lien still attaches to the future interest, even though execution cannot reach it yet. That attachment does real work: it prevents the debtor from transferring the property away to defeat the creditor before the right to present possession accrues. The creditor's claim rides along with the interest, waiting for the moment execution becomes possible.
The result is a kind of holding pattern rather than a dead end. The creditor cannot force a sale of a future interest today, but the debtor cannot quietly sell it out from under the judgment either. Once the future interest matures into a present right to possession, the property becomes available to satisfy the judgment the way any other personal property would.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a creditor force the sale of a debtor's future interest in personal property?
No. O.C.G.A. § 9-13-56 bars seizing and selling a future interest in personalty under execution while it remains future.
If execution cannot reach a future interest yet, is the creditor's judgment lien lost?
No. The lien still attaches to the future interest, preserving the creditor's claim even though a sale is not yet possible.
What does the judgment lien accomplish before the interest becomes present?
It prevents the debtor from alienating — transferring away — the future interest before the right to present possession accrues, keeping the property available for the creditor once it does.
When does a future interest in personalty become available for execution?
Once the right to present possession accrues, at which point the property is no longer a future interest and becomes subject to the ordinary seizure-and-sale process.
Does this section apply to future interests in real estate as well?
The text is limited to personalty; future interests in real property are governed by other Georgia property law rather than this Code section.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 2581; Code 1868, § 2583; Code 1873, § 2625; Code 1882, § 2625; Civil Code 1895, § 5452; Civil Code 1910, § 6057; Code 1933, § 39-1310.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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