Garnishment
Garnishment is a drastic measure for collecting a debt. A court
order of garnishment allows a creditor to take the property of a debtor
when the debtor does not possess the property. A garnishment action is
taken against the debtor as defendant and the property holder as
garnishee. Garnishment is regulated by statutes, and is usually reserved
for the creditor who has obtained a judgment, or court order, against
the debtor. A garnishment is a means of collecting a monetary judgment
against a defendant by ordering a third party (the garnishee) to pay
money, otherwise owed to the defendant, directly to the plaintiff.
Garnishment is similar to lien and to attachment. Liens and attachments
are court orders that give a creditor an interest in the property of the
debtor. Garnishment is a continuing lien against nonexempt property of
the debtor. Garnishment is not, however, an attachment. Attachment is
the process of seizing property of the debtor that is in the debtor's
possession, whereas garnishment is the process of seizing property of
the debtor that is in the possession of a third party. |
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