Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Alabama

wage garnishment

if a judgment has been obtained where wage garnishment

is the next step, and the employer information has not

been verified, is it possible to attach a garnishment

to a checking account? is their any state in the

united states where where this may not be done.


Asked on 2/25/01, 12:01 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Daniel Hawes Hawes & Associates

Re: wage garnishment

There is no necessary "next step" in collection of an enrolled judgment. There are lots of things you can do. Your main hurdles are going to be the protections that federal and state laws give to ordinary consumers. The rules are sort of complicated and you can run into trouble if you try to, for example, garnish a person's wages in excess of the federally allowed limit (which varies according to what kind of judgment it is).

"Attachment" is the process by which the Court assumes control of an asset. "Garnishment" is a legal action against a third party believed to be in possession of assets belonging to the judgment debtor. If you garnish the bank account, the sheriff will serve papers on the bank by which the court will attach the account. The bank will then have to file a response telling how much of the judgment debtor's money it has that can be used to satisfy your judgment. If you know where the judgment debtor has an account, that's often the best "next step".

No attorney that I know of has a catalog of all state laws in his head. I can tell you that Virginia permits garnishment actions against banks. You'll have to do a state-by-state check if you want to know about all the states that don't permit it.

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Answered on 4/20/01, 8:10 am
Bruce Marshall Durrette, Irvin & Bradshaw, P.L.C.

Re: wage garnishment

Yes you may.

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Answered on 4/20/01, 10:54 am


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