A writ of garnishment is a document that demands a debtor’s assets or property be handed over to a specific party. The goal of this document is to ensure that a debtor repays his or her debt. Once the document is issued, the person will have no choice but to repay the amount.
Writs of garnishment are typically issued to third parties, which are known as garnishees. A garnishee is a company or individual that has control of the property being garnished. Examples of common garnishees are banks and employers.
Depending on state law, a writ of garnishment may be given before or after a debt has been settled in court. However, in most cases, the plaintiff must be awarded a certified court judgment before a writ of garnishment can be issued. This means that you must be sued and lose the case before a writ of garnishment can be requested.
One exception to this is if you owe money to the federal government. The federal government is not required to obtain a court judgment before requesting a writ of garnishment.
There are several reasons why a writ of garnishment might be issued. Most commonly, these orders are issued after a person has stopped paying his or her creditors. If you stop paying your credit card bills, your credit card company or collection agency may sue you to collect the owed amount. If you fail to make your child support payments, you may be forced to do so through a writ of garnishment. You can be sued for almost any debt, including those resulting from taxes, purchases, promissory notes, lawsuits and contracts.
Once your employer receives a writ of garnishment, they will have no choice but to garnish your wages. The only time an employee is exempt is if he or she is no longer working for the company or is making less than 30 times the federal minimum wage. Once your wages have been garnished, 25% of your disposable income will be taken from your paychecks. More can be taken if you owe back taxes or child support.
If you are not employed, the writ of garnishment can be issued to your bank. When this happens, your bank account will be frozen. If you do not contest the garnishment, the owed funds will be taken directly from your bank account after 20 days. Depending on your state and the type of debt, your retirement funds and assets may also be garnished. In the majority of cases, your assets will not be frozen until after you have gone to court. Yet, if the creditor is worried that you might hide assets, a writ of judgment can be used to freeze your accounts before the case is settled.
The best way to avoid a writ of garnishment is to fight the case or to settle outside of court. If the garnishment is unlawful, you may also request that the judge void the document. Assuming that you are successful, this will help you lift a wage garnishment and protect your assets.
I recently was served to appear in court due to a company suing me for an unpaid debt. What are my options?
Hello Tim,
Since I am not a lawyer I cannot give you any legal advice.
I would suggest you talk to a lawyer for help with your case. Doing nothing will probably make matters worse.
I just found out that my wages have been garnished when I checked my paystub. It states that it is a writ garnishment. How do I stop this from happening? I did not go to court and I did not receive any thing to inform me of these action.
You should talk to your employer first and get all information about this garnishment. Then you can contact the court that issued this writ of garnishment and find out why you were not informed.
Once your employer has received a court order it may take some time and effort to reverse it. I would suggest you talk to a lawyer for help.