SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

1995 SESSION

LD4872316
HOUSE BILL NO. 2533
Offered January 23, 1995
A BILL to amend and reenact § 8.01-512.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to garnishment form.
----------
Patrons--Katzen, Forbes, Rollison and Ruff
----------
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 8.01-512.3 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 8.01-512.3. Form of garnishment summons.

Any garnishment issued pursuant to § 8.01-511 shall be in the following form: 

GARNISHMENT SUMMONS
(Court Name)
(Name, address and telephone number of judgment creditor)
(Name, address and telephone number of judgment creditor's attorney)
(Name, street address and social security number of judgment debtor)
(Name and street address of garnishee)
...................... Hearing Date and Time

MAXIMUM PORTION OF                          STATEMENT
DISPOSABLE EARNINGS SUBJECT             Judgment Principal  $...
TO GARNISHMENT                          Credits             $...
                                        Interest            $...
  □ Support                               Judgment Costs      $...
  □ 50%   □ 55%   □ 60%   □ 65%                 Attorney's Fees     $...
(if not specified, then 50%)            Garnishment Costs   $...
  □ state taxes, 100%
If none of the above are
checked, then § 34-29 (a)            TOTAL BALANCE DUE      $...
(printed on the reverse side         The garnishee shall
of this summons) applies.            rely on this amount.
.......................
  Date of Judgment
TO ANY AUTHORIZED OFFICER: You are hereby commanded to serve this
summons on the judgment debtor and the garnishee.
TO THE GARNISHEE: You are hereby commanded to
(1) File a written answer with this court, or
(2) Deliver payment to this court, or
(3) Appear before this court on the return date and time shown on
this summons to answer the Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment of
the judgment creditor that, by reason of the lien of writ of fieri
facias, there is a liability as shown in the statement upon the
garnishee.
As garnishee, you shall withhold from the judgment debtor any sums
of money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from you
during the period between the date of service of this summons on you
and the date for your appearance in court, subject to the following
limitations:
(1) The maximum amount which may be garnished is the "TOTAL BALANCE
DUE" as shown on this summons.
(2) If the sums of money being garnished are earnings of the judgment
debtor, then the provision of "MAXIMUM PORTION OF DISPOSABLE EARNINGS
SUBJECT TO GARNISHMENT" shall apply.
If a garnishment summons is served on an employer having 1,000 or
more employees, then money to which the judgment debtor is or may be
entitled from his or her employer shall be considered those wages,
salaries, commissions or other earnings which, following service on
the garnishee-employer, are determined and are payable to the
judgment debtor under the garnishee-employer's normal payroll
procedure with a reasonable time allowance for making a timely return
by mail to this court.
...........................                             .............
Date of Issuance of Summons                                 Clerk
...............................................
Date of delivery of writ of fieri facias to sheriff if different from
date of issuance of this summons.

(b) A verbatim copy of § 34-29 shall be printed on the reverse side of the summons. Additionally, a plain language interpretation of that section shall also appear on the reverse side of the summons as follows:

“This is not the law but is an interpretation of the law which is intended to assist those who must respond to this garnishment. You may rely on this only for general guidance because the law itself is the final word. (Read the law, § 34-29, above for a full explanation and if you don’t understand it, call a lawyer for help.)

An employer may take as much as 25 percent of an employee’s earnings to satisfy this garnishment. But if an employee makes the minimum wage or less for his week’s earnings, the employee will ordinarily get to keep 30 times the minimum hourly wage.

But an employer may withhold a different amount of money from that above if:

(1) the employee must pay child support or spousal support and was ordered to do so by a court procedure or other legal procedure. No more than 65 percent of an employee’s earnings may be withheld for support.;

(2) money is withheld by order of a bankruptcy court; or

(3) money is withheld for a tax debt.

“Earnings” means the money an employee makes “after taxes” and after other legal obligations. Earnings can be salary, hourly wage, commissions, bonuses or otherwise, whether paid directly to the employee or not. After those earnings are in the bank for 30 days, they are not considered earnings any more.

If an employee tries to transfer, assign or in any way give his earnings to another person to avoid the garnishment, it will not be legal; earnings are still earnings.

An employee can’t be fired because he is garnished for one debt.

Banks that receive an employee’s paycheck by direct deposit do not have to determine what part of a person’s earnings can be garnished.