§ 61.002.Specific Grounds

The nine grounds, and they fall into three groups.

Absence from the jurisdiction. The defendant is not a resident of this state or is a foreign corporation or is acting as such; or is about to move from this state permanently and has refused to pay or secure the debt; or is in hiding so that ordinary process of law cannot be served.

The first of those is the widest. Non-residence alone satisfies it — no fraud, no concealment, nothing more than being from somewhere else.

Concealment or removal of property. The defendant has hidden or is about to hide property to defraud creditors; is about to remove property from this state without leaving enough to pay debts; or is about to remove property from the county with intent to defraud creditors.

Note the difference between the last two. Removal from the state requires only that insufficient property be left behind; removal from the county requires intent to defraud.

Disposal or conversion. The defendant has disposed of or is about to dispose of property with intent to defraud creditors, or is about to convert property into money to place it beyond the reach of creditors.

Converting property to money is treated as a ground in itself, because money is the asset a creditor can least readily follow.

The ninth ground stands apart: the defendant owes the plaintiff for property obtained under false pretenses.

That one describes the origin of the debt rather than the defendant’s current conduct, and it is the only ground that does. A debt incurred by deception supports attachment without any showing that the defendant is moving assets.

Seven of the nine are forward-looking — "about to" — so a plaintiff is proving an intention rather than an act, which is why the general grounds and the bond matter as much as they do.