Attachment
Attachment is a court-authorized restraint or seizure of property to preserve assets before judgment or support enforcement after judgment, subject to procedure and exemptions.
Legal collection and payment terms distinguish payment-at-delivery controls, intangible claims, court remedies, and property protected from enforcement.
This section connects payment design with creditor-claim and enforcement concepts. The terms operate at different stages: cash on delivery can prevent a post-delivery receivable, a chose in action describes an intangible legal right, attachment restrains property through court process, and exemption laws limit some creditor remedies.
These concepts should not be treated as one collection workflow. A seller choosing a payment term is making a commercial credit decision; a creditor seeking attachment is using a legal remedy. The evidence, timing, authority, and risks differ.
| Concept | Stage | Core question |
|---|---|---|
| Cash on Delivery | Sale and fulfillment | Must payment be tendered when goods are presented rather than after delivery? |
| Chose in Action | Asset and claim classification | Does a party hold an intangible personal right enforceable through action? |
| Attachment | Pre- or post-judgment court process | Can specified property be restrained or seized under applicable procedure? |
| Exemption Laws | Enforcement or bankruptcy | Which property, equity, earnings, or benefits are protected from this remedy? |
| Stage | Finance question | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Contracting | When is payment due, and is credit extended? | Sales contract, invoice terms, delivery and inspection terms |
| Delivery | Were goods tendered, accepted, refused, returned, or damaged? | Carrier record, receipt, inspection, return, and payment evidence |
| Receivable | What amount is due and who owns the claim? | Ledger, agreement, payments, credits, assignment, and dispute history |
| Collection | Can the claim be resolved without court enforcement? | Communications, authority, settlement, and account reconciliation |
| Court process | What remedy is available and under which procedure? | Pleadings, judgment, writ, notice, hearing, and order |
| Recovery | What value remains after exemptions, priority, and costs? | Ownership, liens, exemptions, valuation, sale, and distribution records |
Not every unpaid invoice reaches each stage. A COD shipment may be returned without creating a post-delivery trade receivable. A judgment may be paid voluntarily without attachment. A valid judgment can also remain partly unpaid if assets are exempt, encumbered, unavailable, or uneconomic to pursue.
Sales, claim ownership, court remedies, and exemptions are legal-sensitive and jurisdiction-specific. This section provides general financial education, not legal, collection, bankruptcy, or merchant-services advice.
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Attachment is a court-authorized restraint or seizure of property to preserve assets before judgment or support enforcement after judgment, subject to procedure and exemptions.
Cash on delivery requires payment when goods are delivered or presented, reducing trade-credit exposure while adding refusal, return, handling, and remittance risks.
A Chose in Action is a personal right to sue for recovery, becoming a possessory asset upon the successful completion of a lawsuit.
Exemption laws protect specified property or income from some creditor remedies or bankruptcy administration, subject to jurisdiction, limits, and claim procedures.