When a person owes money on an unpaid debt and defaults on his payments for this debt, the creditor may seek to sue the person in court. If the creditor wins the case, then he has a number of additional methods at his disposal to collect the money owed him. Among these is the garnishment of a debtor's wages and bank account. Although not available in all states, garnishment is available to creditors in Florida.
Debt Collection
Legally, a debtor owes the money incurred from a debt for the remainder of his life. However, creditors have only a limited period of time in which to sue the person in court. If a person is not sued in court, the creditor's options for collection remain extremely limited. In Florida, the statute of limitations for a debt lawsuit is between four and five years, depending on the type of debt.
Garnishment
If a creditor in Florida does file a lawsuit against a debtor and a judge declares that the creditor is owed damages for the unpaid debt, then the creditor can attempt to seize this money forcefully, if payment is not forthcoming. In Florida, both the garnishment of wages and the seizure of a person's bank account are available, albeit only with the permission of a civil court judge.
Bank Account Seizure
When a bank account is seized in Florida, the bank account holder will often receive no notice that the seizure is going into effect until it has already been served. In Florida, to seize an account, a creditor must receive an order from a civil court judge, which will then be served on the bank. However, certain types of income deposited in this account, such as federal benefits, are protected from seizure and cannot be removed.
Exemptions
Some of the main exemptions to garnishment is Florida exists for low-income people, particularly for the head of the household. If a person makes less than 30 times in the federal minimum wage, as applied per week, within a given year, then his wages cannot be garnished. Similarly, a head of household cannot have his wages garnished if he makes less than $500 per week. Additional exemptions exist for people with dependents.
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