How to Attach a Debt Lien on Individual Bank Accounts
Succeeding in a debt collection lawsuit against another individual entitles you to utilize debt collection methods to which you did not previously have legal access. Bank account garnishment is one such method. Placing a lien against a consumer's bank account gives you the right to seize money from his account as payment for the debt he owes. The court, however, will not garnish the debtor's bank account for you. You must take the necessary steps to obtain and serve the garnishment order before the bank will turn the debtor's funds over to you.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
File a lawsuit against the debtor. You must win the suit in order to pursue a bank account garnishment.
-
2
Obtain a certified copy of the judgment, sometimes referred to as an "abstract of judgment," from the courthouse after you win your case. A certified copy of a judgment can take several days to a week to prepare, depending on the court.
-
-
3
Fill out a bank garnishment request form at the court clerk's office. Attach the certified copy of your court judgment to the garnishment request form and give the documents to the court clerk. The court will then issue a writ of execution permitting the garnishment to take place.
-
4
Make a copy of the writ of execution for your own records. Deliver the original writ of execution to your district's levying officer -- in most districts, the levying officer is the county sheriff.
-
5
Pay the levying officer's service fee for delivering the writ of execution to the debtor's bank. The sheriff's office will then formally serve the debtor's bank with the writ of execution. Once this occurs, the bank freezes the debtor's bank accounts for the amount of time mandated by your state before seizing all non-exempt funds within the account and delivering them to you.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If a single garnishment does not satisfy the debt, you can file subsequent garnishment orders as long as your court judgment is valid.
The process of securing a bank garnishment may vary slightly depending on your state of residence, Your court may also use different terminology to refer to court documents and processes.
If you live in Delaware, you cannot garnish a debtor's bank accounts. Delaware is the only state that prohibits bank account garnishment.
You cannot garnish an individual's bank accounts unless you know where she banks.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
