§ 61.041.Subject Property

One sentence borrowing an entire body of law.

A writ of attachment may be levied only on property that by law is subject to levy under a writ of execution.

The borrowing is efficient and principled. Rather than writing a separate list of attachable property, the chapter uses the one that governs execution — so what can be taken to satisfy a judgment is what can be attached before one.

The most important consequence is the exemptions. Texas exempts a homestead, a substantial amount of personal property, tools of trade, a vehicle per licensed driver, and current wages — and none of it can be attached.

That is a considerable limit on the remedy, particularly against an individual defendant whose assets may consist largely of exempt property.

The rule also has a logical force. Attachment secures a future judgment, and property that could never be taken to satisfy that judgment secures nothing.

Attaching exempt property would produce harm without benefit — the defendant loses the use of it, and the plaintiff gains no security.

The reference is to what is subject to levy "by law", so the limit tracks the exemption statutes as they stand rather than as they stood when this chapter was written.

The following sections then divide by property type, with different procedures for personalty and realty, and a separate rule for property held by a financial institution.