How Writs of Garnishment in Coconut Grove Benefit Creditors
Wage garnishment serves as a court judgment that mandates how either a portion or the entirety of a debtor’s income is dispersed to resolve outstanding debts. This method can provide creditors with a crucial resource to reclaim otherwise lost debts under a wide variety of circumstances.
By pursuing writs of garnishment in Coconut Grove, creditors obtain the court backing that enables them to garnish wages from an employer. In fact, the writ will order the employer to withhold part of the debtor’s income and sent it where the debtor owes money until the debt resolves.
Common sources where writs of garnishment in Coconut Grove apply include consumer debts, child support, as well as student loans. A creditor can garnish wages until the debtor pays off the debt, or resolves the debt through alternative resolutions.
Nevertheless, wage garnishment not only applies to income, but also to bank accounts, rental income, and trust accounts as well.
Procedures – Writs of Garnishment in Coconut Grove
A creditor can initiate the wage garnishment process after filing a Request for Garnishment with the court. Once filed, the court clerk or a judge will sign this request, transforming it into a writ of garnishment ordering the garnishee (employer, bank, etc.) to hold any property that they hold during the time of filing.
Creditors must pay court fees to file this request, and could incur fees to serve the garnishee as well. However, they wield the right to interest that accrues on the debt, and may also pursue court fees or costs as well.
Garnishees must file a response to the writ with 30 days of receiving the writ. This response must indicate the debtor’s employment status, current pay rate, and any existing wage garnishments. Without this response, a garnishee could face penalties for contempt of court, and creditors can receive a default judgment from the court against them.
When garnishees receive multiple writs of garnishment in Coconut Grove, they must first apply payments to accrued interest on a judgment. Once this resolves, they then disperse against the principal judgment amount, and lastly against attorney’s fees or court costs accrued against the debtor.
Garnishees must inform the debtor each pay period of the amount they withhold, in addition to the methods they utilized to calculate this amount. Typically, they will display this information on the debtor’s pay stub.
Writs of Garnishment in Coconut Grove on a Bank Account
Debtors may discover that an exempt amount effectively freezes due to writs of garnishment in Coconut Grove. This occurs as a result of creditors pursuing garnishment on a bank, not the bank account. Creditors can, without penalty, serve writs to the bank where a debtor maintains an account.
A creditor will often rely on this method when a debtor’s assets remain exempt from garnishment. Florida law protects banks that freeze exempt accounts due to a garnishment writ with a notably minimal exception.
In these situations, a debtor may only attempt to convince a creditor to free the exempt account or seek court resolution through dissolving the garnishment entirely. For this reason, creditors often need assistance from a legal professional to ensure everything continues as usual with their bank garnishment proceedings.
The law imposes numerous strict requirements regarding garnishment situations. When a creditor does not act within the law, debtors may easily dissolve the garnishment, increasing the difficulty for creditors to reclaim their rightful property.
Writs of Garnishment in Coconut Grove from the Law Offices of Paul A. Humbert, P.L.
Some debtors will do anything they can to fight wage garnishment, not seeing any alternative to a path forward. Nonetheless, hardship should not entirely alleviate the debtor’s burden to repay the debt they owe.
Garnishment remains on debtor credit reports for up to seven years. For this reason, many debtors fight creditors tooth and nail to ensure they keep this situation from affecting their financial future.
Our team from the Law Offices of Paul A. Humbert, P.L. works hard to defend creditor rights in debt collection scenarios, as well as litigating on their behalf. We focus on representing their best interests as we work to achieve the best possible outcome in debt collection actions.
If your business needs assistance in a debt collection situation, or with attaining writs of garnishment in Coconut Grove, you require the assistance of an expert attorney that remains well-versed in these areas. To learn more about how our firm can help you ensure a positive outcome in these scenarios, contact us today!
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- “Default Judgment | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information ….” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/default_judgment. Accessed 28 Sep. 2019.
- “Bank Accounts That Cannot Be Garnished or Frozen.” https://pocketsense.com/bank-accounts-cannot-garnished-frozen-8005484.html. Accessed 28 Sep. 2019.