[ag13]

Can a joint bank account be garnished in Ga when a judgement is against only one party? It's a husband and wife personal checking account.

[charlotte234s]

I've been told that they will freeze the account and ask the person who isn't owing the debt to prove which funds are theirs so they only garnish the money of the person who owes money.

[ScottGem]

Any account that the debtor is a joint owner of is subject to attachment. If the debtor can prove that the funds in that account are from other sources not the debtor they can get the attachment lifted. If they file a letter with the bank to that affect, they may even be able to prevent the attachment.

[JudyKayTee]

I've been told that they will freeze the account and ask the person who isn't owing the debt to prove which funds are theirs so they only garnish the money of the person who owes money.

I'd be curious where you heard of this - I am not aware of any States where money in a joint account belongs to both people: simply stated, all of it belongs to one; all of it belongs to the other.

So, yes, the entire account is subject to being seized.

[ScottGem]

I'd be curious where you heard of this - I am not aware of any States where money in a joint account belongs to both people: simply stated, all of it belongs to one; all of it belongs to the other.

So, yes, the entire account is subject to being seized.

I think Charlotte is misunderstanding something I said. In another post she said that the can't attach a joint account and I told her that's not true. As long as the debtor is a joint owner of the account it can be attached and the WHOLE account taken.

However, if they can prove that the funds deposited in the account were solely from the other party (for example only payroll deduction were deposited) then the attachment can be quashed.