Stopping Someone From Moving Money Before You Can Collect It
You are in a dispute with someone who owes you money, or owes obligations to a company you own part of. Now you have learned that they are moving assets: transferring money to accounts they control, selling property, or shifting funds to related entities. By the time you get a judgment, there may be nothing left to collect.
Whether a court can freeze those assets depends on what your claim is about. Texas courts do not freeze a defendant’s property simply to make sure a future money judgment can be collected. A freeze becomes available when the assets themselves are what the lawsuit is about, when you hold a lien or security interest in them, when you are pursuing an equitable remedy such as a constructive trust, or when a statute authorizes the relief. Where none of those fit, the right tools are the statutory ones: attachment, garnishment, sequestration, or a receivership.
Sorting out which category your case falls into is the first thing we do, and we do it quickly, because in these cases speed is everything. We have obtained these orders for clients in Dallas courts.
Call 214-368-4686.
What an Asset Freeze TRO Does
An asset freeze order is an injunction that prohibits the respondent from transferring, dissipating, encumbering, or otherwise disposing of specified assets while the litigation is pending.
It does not give you the money, and it does not prejudge who wins. What it does is preserve the assets so there is something to collect if you do win. A judgment against an empty company is worthless, and an asset freeze TRO is what keeps your judgment from turning into exactly that.
The statutory basis is Section 65.011(2) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which allows an injunction when a party performs an act relating to the subject of the pending litigation that would tend to render the judgment in that litigation ineffectual. That limitation carries the weight. The act has to touch the subject matter of the suit, not merely the defendant’s general ability to pay a judgment later.
Common Situations Where We Seek Asset Freeze TROs
A Business Partner Is Draining the Company
Your partner has started transferring company funds to a separate entity they control, paying inflated fees to related parties, or simply moving money out of the business before the dispute over the company is resolved. The longer this continues, the more depleted the asset you are fighting over becomes.
An asset freeze TRO can prohibit these transfers and require the accounts to remain intact while the underlying dispute is litigated.
A Debtor Is Moving Assets to Defeat a Claim
We have seen this pattern again and again. The same week a lawsuit is filed, the defendant begins systematically dismantling their financial position. What is available depends on how those transfers are attacked. A general concern that the defendant is spending money will not support a freeze. Transfers made to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors are a different matter, because the Texas fraudulent transfer statute supplies its own injunctive remedy against further disposition of the transferred assets. Where the complaint is simply that the defendant is becoming collection-proof, the statutory prejudgment writs of attachment, garnishment, and sequestration are the right tools, and we evaluate those at the same time.
Collateral Is Being Sold or Destroyed
When you are a lender and the borrower is selling or dissipating the assets pledged as collateral for your loan, that collateral shrinks with every passing day. We obtained a TRO in exactly this situation, stopping a business owner from selling off the collateral assets while the lender pursued enforcement. The assets were preserved, and the loan was paid in full.
Company Assets During a Business Ownership Dispute
When two or more parties are fighting over control of a company and one of them is taking unilateral actions that harm the enterprise, such as making unauthorized transfers, entering transactions that benefit only themselves, or paying out improper compensation, an asset freeze can protect what both sides are fighting over.
The Texas Fraudulent Transfer Law
Texas has a specific body of law aimed at asset transfers made to put property beyond the reach of creditors. When assets are transferred with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors, or transferred for far less than their real value by someone who is or is about to become insolvent, the transfer can be challenged, and additional remedies become available beyond the general TRO framework.
These remedies can include injunctions against further transfers, appointment of a receiver over the assets, and in some cases reversal of transfers that have already happened. If you believe assets are being moved to put them beyond your reach, we will assess whether these claims apply to your situation.
Why You Have to Move Immediately
Asset dissipation cases do not wait. Wire transfers are instantaneous. Real estate transactions can close in days. A business can be sold before anyone realizes what is happening.
When we get a call from a client who has just discovered that funds are being moved, we assess the situation immediately and, when the facts support it, seek an ex parte TRO the same day.
To do that effectively, we need specific information: what transfers have occurred or are occurring, what accounts or assets are involved, and what evidence you have of the pattern of conduct. The more specific your evidence, the stronger the affidavit we can submit.
What the Order Looks Like
An asset freeze TRO must specifically identify what is being frozen. It cannot simply say “Defendant is restrained from moving any assets.” It must name the specific accounts, assets, or categories of transfers that are prohibited.
This specificity is required by Texas law, and it matters practically. A specific order is easier to monitor, easier to enforce, and harder to evade through technical workarounds. We draft proposed orders carefully.
Frequently Asked Questions About Asset Freeze Injunctions
Can a TRO freeze bank accounts?
Yes. A properly drafted TRO can prohibit the account holder from withdrawing or transferring funds from specific identified accounts. The TRO does not give the court or the applicant direct access to the funds. It prohibits the account holder from moving them, subject to contempt if they do.
What if the transfers have already happened?
If assets have already been moved, a TRO can prevent further transfers and preserve what remains. Transfers that have already occurred may be addressable through fraudulent transfer claims if the transfers were made with intent to hinder creditors. Call us. There may be more options than you think.
Can a TRO stop a real estate closing?
Yes, if the closing has not yet occurred and you can show the transfer would render a future judgment against the seller ineffectual. Courts have granted TROs stopping the closing of real estate transactions when the property was the primary asset available to satisfy a claim.
What evidence do I need to get this TRO?
You need specific evidence of the transfers that are occurring or are about to occur: account records, emails, communications, financial statements, or other documentation showing the defendant is moving assets. The more specific, the better. We can work with what you have, but specificity in the affidavit is directly correlated with success.