Using Garnishment to Collect Your Judgment in Florida
We Fight to Protect What is Legally Yours
At Levey Filler, we are proud of our reputation as one of the most effective debt collection law firms in the nation. Our collection attorneys have been successfully collecting debts in Miami and throughout Florida for over 20 years.
In many cases, garnishment is the best way to collect on a money judgment. Attorney Lewis J. Levey knows the ins and outs of garnishments because he works on them every day. He uses confidential information and his extensive experience to collect unpaid judgments through garnishment of bank accounts, wages and other property. Our firm's strategies produce successful results for our clients every day. We frequently use garnishments to recover on unpaid judgments entered years ago.
Let our Miami law firm help you collect on your unpaid judgment through garnishment. Call 305-672-5007 or contact us to discuss our judgment enforcement or debt collection services.
The Garnishment Process in Florida
If you have an unpaid judgment, you can request that the clerk of court issue a writ of garnishment. The clerk's fee for starting a garnishment action in Florida is approximately $200.00. The writ of garnishment is a legal document that is served on a bank, company or person that has property or money belonging to the debtor, or that owes wages or money to the debtor.
The party who owes money to the debtor or has property owned by the debtor will be required to hold that money and/or property pending direction from the court. Some limited types of property and income are exempt from garnishment. After being served with notice of the garnishment, the debtor can claim an exemption and request a court hearing. If the debtor does not have one of the limited exemptions or does not request a hearing, the court will order that the money or property be used to satisfy the judgment.
Examples of property that a judgment creditor can garnish are:
Bank accounts: After being served with a garnishment, the debtor's bank must freeze funds in the debtor's accounts and lock the debtor's safe-deposit box until the court rules. The amount which must be held is up to double the amount of the judgment.
Salary or wages: A writ of garnishment requires the debtor's employer to withhold 25 percent of the debtor's net salary or wages and turn it over to the judgment creditor. A continuing writ of garnishment will require the employer to set aside a portion of the debtor's paycheck or wages each pay period until the judgment is paid. Wage garnishment can only be ordered against someone who does not earn a larger portion of the family's income.
Other income or property: You can garnish virtually any money or income that is owed to the debtor. Creditors can garnish loan payments, rental income, certain insurance and medicare proceeds, accounts receivable and other money being paid or about to be paid to the debtor.
To learn more about garnishment and discuss the best strategy to collect money that is legally yours, contact us. In addition to commercial debt collection services, our lawyers also provide experienced representation for breach of contract claims and other business litigation.
