G Consulta

Garnishment is a post judgment remedy directed against the property of the debtor that is in the possession of third parties. It is a legal process that provides the plaintiff an opportunity to collect money from the debtor’s employer or another third party to satisfy the money owed to him by the defendant. To avail of this remedy, the creditor (ganishor) must go to court to seek a writ of garnishment. The third person is called the garnishee. Common garnishees are employers who possess wages due a debtor and banks in possession of funds belonging to the debtor. A prejudgment garnishment is an understanding, which may impose tremendous hardship on wage earners with families to support. Garnishment of wages often results in job loss. It drives a wage-earning family to the wall. The leverage of the creditor on the wage earner is enormous, The creditor tenders not only the original debt but the collection fees incurred by his attorneys in the garnishment proceedings: “The debtor whose wages are tied up by a writ of garnishment, and who is usually in need of money, is in no position to resist demands for collection fees. If the debt is small, the debtor will be under considerable pressure to pay the debt and collection charges in order to get his wages back. If the debt is large, he will often sign a new contract or ‘payment schedule’ which incorporates additional charges”.