Does Tennessee Allow the Garnishment of Joint Accounts?

When a creditor obtains a judgment against you in Tennessee, he may garnish your wages, seize your property and remove funds from your bank account. In many cases, a creditor may even take money from an account you own jointly with another individual. However, depending on the circumstances, the other account holder may be able to retrieve the levied funds.

About Joint Accounts

In Tennessee, all joint accounts include the right of survivorship unless otherwise indicated. According to Tennessee code, all account owners have equal rights to funds deposited in a joint account, and a creditor with a judgment against any of the account owners can garnish the funds held in the account. Depending on the circumstances, however, account owners who aren't indebted to the garnishing creditor may be able commence actions against him and establish their rights to funds in the account.

Married Joint Owners

In Tennessee, spouses holding joint accounts qualify as tenants by the entirety, which means that each spouse has full ownership of all funds in the account and one spouse can't convey interest in the account without the permission of the other. Because of this arrangement, a single spouse's debt can't convey interest in the account to a creditor, and no creditor can garnish the funds in the joint account unless both parties are liable for the debt. If a judgment creditor seizes funds from a married couple's joint account, the spouse who doesn't owe the debt can retrieve the garnished funds by showing that she is married to the other account holder and that both of their names are on the account.

Unmarried Joint Owners

Tennessee law doesn't prevent judgment creditors from seizing funds held in a joint account with unmarried owners. The account owner who isn't liable for the debt may be able to retrieve a portion of the garnished funds, but she must show that they were attributable only to her, such as through employment. Funds that aren't directly attributable to only the innocent owner are still subject to garnishment.

Considerations

There are certain types of funds that creditors can't remove from a joint account regardless of which account owner deposited them. These funds include income from pensions, public assistance, wrongful death awards, personal injury awards, crime victim's compensation, insurance proceeds, Social Security benefits, child support payments and spousal maintenance.