Check out some similar questions!

cletusbb · Jan 19, 2009, 10:20 PM

Hello everyone I am new to this but I do have a very important question, well at least to me.
I currently reside in Washington state and I am getting garnished directly from my check that I get from work, I was served with papers and went to court were obviously I lost, and have been getting garnished for the last year and a half, I have recently opened a checking account, and I am now worried that too may get garnished, I guess my question is since I am currently being garnished from my check can they go right into my checking account with out serving me papers and garnish that, or will they look over the fact that I have a checking account because I am being garnished? Thank you for you help

Sincerely cletusbb

George_1950 · Jan 20, 2009, 07:04 AM

Garnishment is a legal action against a person or entity (bank or employer) that owes you money. The garnishment against your employer is a separate law suit from the suit by which you are indebted to your creditor, and the creditor will file another suit against your bank if and when it learns of your account. You should receive notice (a copy) of all suits.

excon · Jan 20, 2009, 07:26 AM

Hello clet:

I disagree with my friend, George. A separate lawsuit is unnecessary. They already HAVE a judgment. It's now just a matter of using it to get paid, and they have MANY avenues for doing that.

The advantage YOU have in a garnishment, is that they can't take ALL of your paycheck. They are under no such restrictions when they seize your bank accounts. They can take ALL the money in them. They won't know, nor will they care that the money in there is what's left after they've already garnished a big piece of it.

Will they find your bank account and take all the money?? I don't know. Do you want to risk it?

excon

PS> YOU won't get served papers. Your bank will. You'll only find out about it when your checks start to bounce.

ScottGem · Jan 20, 2009, 07:37 AM

Excon is correct here. The creditor does not have to file another suit. What they DO have to do is get a writ of attachment from the court that issued the judgement. You will not be informed about this.

They may be satisified getting what they get out of your paycheck. Or they may want this paid off sooner. That's their choice. If they find out that you have a checking account and what bank it is with, then they have the right to get a writ to attach it.

George_1950 · Jan 20, 2009, 08:05 AM

I don't see where cletusbb indicates state of residence, but that state's law will determine whether a garnishment is a continuation of a previous suit or a new one. "The garnishment process involves the filing of a separate lawsuit in the same court as the underlying judgment." Dallas commercial collection Attorney | Fort Worth bad debt Lawyer | North Texas creditor Law Firm | Irving, Addison, Plano, Arlington, Las Colinas, McKinney & Denton, TX
I do not live in Texas, but a garnishment is a new suit against someone who owes the defendant money in my state. The garnishment can be filed in one of three courts in my county, regardless of where the judgement originated. There is a separate filing fee and case number.

ScottGem · Jan 20, 2009, 11:54 AM

Texas is a very consumer friendly state when it comes to collecting on debts. As noted on your linked page, wages can't be garnished in Texas (for the most part).

I am also wondering if the lawyer who wrote that info was accurately depicting the process. In most juridictions that I know of, once a plaintiff has obtained a judgement, a court will issue an order seizing property at the plaintiff's petition. The defendant is not a party to this action. Whether a hearing is held depends on the venue.

George_1950 · Jan 20, 2009, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Texas is a very consumer friendly state when it comes to collecting on debts. As noted on your linked page, wages can't be garnished in Texas (for the most part).

I am also wondering if the lawyer who wrote that info was accurately depicting the process. In most juridictions that I know of, once a plaintiff has obtained a judgement, a court will issue an order seizing property at the plaintiff's petition...

What you are describing is an 'execution': "'Execution sales,' though based upon a judgment, are made under the statute, for the recovery of a specific sum of money in satisfaction of the judgment. Sales made under an execution must conform in all respects with the rules which the law lays down for the protection of the debtor." Section 27. Judicial And Execution Sales

ScottGem · Jan 20, 2009, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by George_1950

What you are describing is an 'execution': "'Execution sales,' though based upon a judgment, are made under the statute, for the recovery of a specific sum of money in satisfaction of the judgment. Sales made under an execution must conform in all respects with the rules which the law lays down for the protection of the debtor." Section 27. Judicial And Execution Sales

What I was describing may be called an "execution" in Texas, but its n ot in most other juridictions. Once a judgement is obtained the plaintiff has to find the defendant's assets. Once he does this, he goes back to the court that issued the judgement and applies for a writ of garnishment, writ of attachment or writ of execution depending on the nature of the asset and the laws governing that court. But in most jurisdictions, once a judgement is issued, the plaintiff just needs to show the court that they have determined the assets belong to the defendant. The purpose of the judge signing these writs is to show the target of the writ that its official. In some jurisdictions (albeit very few), the documentation of the judgement is sufficient.