§ 62.002.Pending Suit Required

One sentence on timing, and it is slightly wider than the attachment chapter’s equivalent.

A writ of sequestration may be issued at the initiation of a suit or at any time before final judgment.

The attachment provision says "at any time during the progress of a suit" and adds an express prohibition — no writ before a suit is instituted. This says "before final judgment" and leaves the prohibition implied.

The effect is the same in substance. A writ issued at the initiation of a suit presupposes a suit, and there is nothing to sequester property in aid of before one exists.

The remedy is ancillary throughout. It secures the subject matter of a pending case, and the grounds are all framed by reference to the suit — title, possession, foreclosure, partition.

"Before final judgment" marks the natural end point. Once judgment is rendered, the successful party has a judgment to enforce and the enforcement chapters take over.

Issuing at the initiation of a suit is the usual course, since the grounds describe an immediate danger and delay defeats the purpose.

But the availability later matters in a case that changes. A defendant who begins stripping timber or removing equipment once litigation is under way can be sequestered then.

The dissolution provisions supply the defendant’s answer at any point, and the writ must display notice of that right on its face.