Interrogatories for Garnishment
Interrogatories are questions asked to a litigant in a lawsuit under oath, according to "Civil Procedure" by Stephen C. Yeazell. Interrogatories are used in a variety of situations, including in the process of collecting a judgment in a lawsuit. For example, interrogatories are used to question a debtor as part of the process of obtaining a garnishment.
Other People Are Reading
-
Employment and Wage Information
-
A series of questions in a set of interrogatories can elicit basic information about the debtor's employment. This includes the name and address of his employer and the amount of money he is paid each pay period. Armed with this information, a judgment creditor is able to seek a garnishment of the debtor's wages.
Bank Accounts
-
Interrogatories for garnishment typically include questions about a debtor's bank accounts. The interrogatories can require a debtor to disclose basic bank-related information, including identifying institutions and actual account numbers. A creditor uses this data to issue a garnishment on a debtor's bank accounts.
-
Objection
-
A debtor lodges an objection to questions asked within interrogatories. However, when a creditor obtained a valid judgment that remains unpaid by the debtor, the court likely will rule in favor of the person or business seeking to obtain information through interrogatories for garnishment.
Alternative
-
If a debtor is reluctant to provide financial information through written interrogatories, the creditor and court might agree to permit the debtor to appear before the court and orally provide this data. Ultimately, either course ends up in a written record of the data being created.
Avoid Interrogatories for Garnishment
-
One way of avoiding interrogatories for garnishment is a debtor satisfying the judgment or working out and sticking to a payment plan with the creditor to satisfy the debt. The other course is for a debtor to file for bankruptcy. Upon filing for bankruptcy, the collection activity ceases until further order from the bankruptcy court.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit cash image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
