Winning a monetary judgment in civil court is not the end of the relationship between plaintiff and defendant. If the plaintiff wins, he becomes the judgment creditor. The defendant becomes the judgment debtor. The change in relationship is all about enforcement which, in the case of a monetary award, is equal to collection. And one option for collecting is garnishment.
Most states allow wage garnishment. Some also allow garnishing financial accounts. But according to Judgment Collectors, a Salt Lake City collection agency that specializes in judgments, garnishments are not automatic. Creditors need to obtain writs of garnishment from the court before proceeding.
More About the Writ
A writ is essentially a court order. There are all sorts of writs allowable in civil court depending on the case at hand and its outcome. A writ of garnishment is a court order that allows a judgment creditor to seize a certain portion of the judgment debtor’s assets – by way of wages and/or financial accounts.
If you were to obtain a writ of garnishment against a debtor whose wages you plan to garnish, the writ would give you permission to seize a certain amount of the debtors take home pay. You could continue withholding from his pay until the debt was paid off.
The Process for Obtaining a Writ
As stated previously, writs of garnishment are not automatic. Judgment creditors must follow set procedures to obtain them. The steps for doing so are described below. Note that they represent a general description. Details may vary in one state or another.
Step #1: Win a Judgment
The first step is to actually win a money judgment in civil court. This is important in the sense that a credit agency cannot garnish wages or bank accounts without a writ. Furthermore, a writ cannot be obtained without a judgment. So the creditor must go to court and win just to get the ball rolling.
Step #2: File the Paperwork
With judgment in hand, a creditor can petition the court for a writ of garnishment by filing the appropriate paperwork in the same court that issued the original judgment. There are court fees involved, and they must be paid before any writ of garnishment is issued.
Step #3: Issuance by the Court Clerk
It is the court clerk’s responsibility to review the application for a writ and then either approve or deny it. Assuming everything is in order, it is rare for a garnishment application to be denied. Instead, the court clerk reviews the information and then signs the writ. In some states, the clerk cannot sign. She must forward the approved application to a judge for signature.
Step #4: Service of the Writ
The next step is to actually serve the writ. Service can be accomplished through a number of means depending on state law. Rarely does the creditor handle service himself. Usually, it is handled by a private process server or the local sheriff’s office.
Step #5: Notify the Debtor
Service involves presenting the debtor’s employer or bank with the writ of garnishment. However, the debtor himself must also be informed of the court’s ruling. They must be given copies of the court filing along with the writ itself. Some states give debtors an opportunity to appeal before garnishment begins in earnest.
The process of obtaining a writ of garnishment is not complicated. It takes time and costs a bit of money, but most states allow the costs to be passed on to the debtor. So really, garnishment is more of a time-commitment thing rather than a financial burden.
