What is garnishing / garnishment of wages or accounts and when does it happen?

Question

What does garnishing / garnishment of wages or accounts mean? Under what circumstances does it happen and what are the implications?

Answer 1

A garnishment is a diversion of payments or property from a debtor to a creditor, before the debtor ever sees the money.

For example: I have a debtor. So I get a court order for a garnishment on the debtor's wages (or accounts) from a duly authorized court. This compels the debtor to make involuntary repayments of his/her debts.

Now getting a wage garnishment is a pretty drastic measure.

Also, it can be done via escrow as a provisional remedy, that is, before the court case settles. This is a good approach, because it protects the creditor's interest in the debtor's property. Property that is garnished before the case settles is held in escrow until the court finds in favor of the creditor.

Prejudgment garnishment is usually ordered by a court only when the creditor can show that the debtor is likely to lose or dispose of the property before the case is resolved. So you're talking a pretty expensive lawyer here.