Although most people intend to pay their debts on time and as outlined in their credit agreements, it sometimes isn't possible to avoid creditors from seeking collection via a debtor's bank account. Current debt and credit law outlines distinct steps for account garnishment. Legitimate companies follow these steps to get what debtors owe.
Collection of Information
Before a creditor can do anything regarding garnishment, they have to gather basic data about you and the bank. For instance, they need your account number and the address of the bank. They also verify the amount of the debt you owe and the account number their company has assigned you. Creditors do this because it costs money to ask for garnishment through the courts, and because the courts won't issue a garnishment order if the creditor doesn't have all the data necessary for the garnishment.
Lawsuit and Certification of Judgment
When a creditor is sure he has all the information necessary for garnishment, he files whatever papers are required by the state to initiate a lawsuit. The court looks at the evidence the creditor has to determine whether the lawsuit is valid. During the lawsuit, you have a right to defend yourself. If you ignore notices regarding a lawsuit, the courts typically will side with your creditor. At the end of the lawsuit, if the judge finds the creditor's garnishment request is reasonable, he will issue a judgment that states the creditor has the authority to garnish your wages. Typically, the creditor then verifies the judgment with the county clerk, which means the clerk records the judgment formally on the judgment docket.
Getting and Filing Paperwork
Once creditors have a valid judgment against you, they get the forms they need to proceed with garnishment. They fill these forms out and process them with the county clerk. The clerk then issues copies of a formal Writ of Garnishment. During this procedure, the creditor also obtains a copy of the judgment and Answer to the Writ of Garnishment forms.
Serving the Garnishment Papers
Your creditor has to let the bank know he has a garnishment order against you. The creditor thus serves the bank with a copy of the Writ of Garnishment, the copies of the Answer to the Writ of Garnishment forms, envelopes addressed to the county clerk, your creditor and you, and a check or money order that covers the cost of the bank processing the garnishment order.
Notifying You
Your creditor legally isn't supposed to withdraw money from your account until you know the garnishment is going to happen. For this reason, the creditor sends you a copy of the Writ of Garnishment, an exemption claims form (you can list what monies in the account should be exempt from garnishment, such as Social Security), a Notice of Garnishment and a copy of the judgment. If for some reason you didn't know by this point the creditor was taking action to collect money from your account, you still have a right to protest the garnishment via the court, but you'll need to prove that the debt isn't owed or that the creditor didn't follow due process.
Negotiation
Once you have received a Notice of Garnishment, the next step usually is looking at your budget and negotiating a payment plan or settlement, as you can't use your account until the debt is eliminated. If you agree to pay even a portion of the debt from other sources, the creditor typically will deduct less from the bank account.
Actual Garnishment
If you cannot negotiate in a way that eliminates the need for garnishment, the creditor proceeds to withdraw money from your account as stipulated in the Writ of Garnishment. In some cases, this amount is small. In other cases, the garnishment entirely drains the account. If you put more money into the account during the garnishment collection process, the creditors are legally entitled to access those funds until you pay the entirety of your debt. For this reason, most debtors end up relying on other accounts or put their money into prepaid credit and debit cards at this point.
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