Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Florida

Re: writ of garnishment

Well, the full meaning of the Writ depends upon whose debt it originally was, and whose money is sitting in the account at the credit union.

A Writ of Garnishment is an Order from the Court directing someone who holds the property of the judgment debtor to hold that property until the Court can determine if it is the debtor's property and whether the debtor has any exemptions or defenses to the turnover of that property to the judgment-creditor. There are several possible exemptions, which can be found under Chapter 222 of Florida Statutes.

If the debt is your husband's, then the creditor is searching for assets to seize and your husband needs to see if he has any exemptions. He will need to file his Claim of Exemption (the check-box form they sent with the Writ) within 20 days of when he was served. Then it will be set for a hearing before the judge.

If the debt is his ex-wife's and the account (or at least the money in the account) is his, then he definitely needs to file the Claim of Exemption so he can get before the judge and explain that the money seized is not hers!

If neither the debt nor the account is your husband's, then you can sit back and enjoy a Springer moment as you get a nice sideline view of his ex-wife's problems.

For more info on garnishments and exemptions, you can check out the Credit section of our website at www.LaBellaLaw.com.