The Garnishment Gurus Glossary: 25 Terms Every Creditor Should Know

1. Judgment Creditor – The person or business owed money under a court judgment. In garnishment papers, the judgment creditor is sometimes identified as the “Plaintiff” (and almost never as the “Garnishor" ). A Defendant or a Respondent or a Petitioner can all be judgment creditors and for this reason, any use of the mandatory forms needs to recognize and change references to "Plaintiff" to "Judgment Creditor" if appropriate.

For most of our clients, this is you – the creditor who won a judgment and is now seeking payment. Under Washington law, a judgment creditor must have an unsatisfied judgment before they can get a writ of garnishment.

2. Judgment Debtor – The person who owes the debt under the judgment. This may be the defendant, plaintiff, respondent, or a petitioner. The judgment debtor is the individual whose wages you are trying to reach.

3. Garnishee – The third party who is holding assets of the debtor. 99% of the time this is the employer or bank. The garnishee receives the writ and is required to freeze and later turn over the debtor’s money to the creditor. For example, an employer served with a writ must withhold part of the employee’s paycheck for the creditor. Washington law calls the garnishee in court filings the “Garnishee Defendant.”  The garnishee has legal duties to respond (see “Answer”) and can be held liable if they don’t comply. See RCW 6.27.170.

4. Garnishor – Essentially another term for the judgment creditor. This is outdated language rarely used in Washington.

5. Plaintiff – Plaintiffs are the ones that start a civil lawsuit. The are bringing some claim against the Defendants. If they win and are awarded a judgment, then they are judgment creditors. Only judgment creditors can garnish wages or bank accounts.

6. Defendant – This is the party against whom a civil lawsuit was brought. The Plaintiff is alleging some wrong (such as a debt being owed) committed by the Defendant against the Plaintiff.

7. Writ of Garnishment – The court order that starts a garnishment. A writ of garnishment directs the garnishee to hold a debtor’s assets (like wages or bank funds) for possible transfer to the creditor. There are multiple types of garnishments, but primarily only wage and bank garnishments matter.

8. Continuing Lien on Earnings (Wage Garnishment) – A wage garnishment in Washington creates a “continuing lien” on the debtor’s earnings for a 60-day period. This means that when you garnish someone’s paycheck, the court order isn’t a one-time grab – it continuously attaches a portion of each paycheck for the next 60 days (or until the debt is paid in full). There are a series of calculations that is used to determine the total amount garnished for each pay period, and those calculations vary based on the type of debt.

9. Bank Garnishment  – Garnishing a bank account or other non-wage assets is a one-time (or “one-shot”) garnishment. Unlike wages, a bank account doesn’t produce ongoing earnings, so the writ of garnishment only captures what the bank holds at the time of service. Like a wage garnishment, there are some funds that are exempt and the amounts depend on the type of debt being collected.

10. Disposable Earnings – Net take-home pay – Washington law references “disposable earnings” when calculating how much of a debtor’s paycheck can be garnished. RCW 6.27.010 defines disposable earnings as “that part of earnings remaining after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required by law to be withheld.” In other words, take the gross wages and subtract taxes and other required deductions. This disposable earning is not what is withheld, but is part of the formula for determining how much will be withheld in an employment garnishment.

11. Consumer Debt (and Garnishment Limits) – In Washington, special rules protect debtors whose judgment is for consumer debt (i.e. personal, household, or family debts as defined by RCW 6.01.060(2)). Most judgments that individuals owe – credit cards, medical bills, landlord debts – are “consumer” debts. Washington State does not have any significant decisions that help to define what is a "consumer debt" but the statute is written in a way that exactly mirrors the federal definition of "consumer debt" and, therefore, there are certain legal tests available. Note that most judgments in Washington State will not specify what type of judgment it is, and often there is nothing on the face of the judgment that will give any clues. A failure to label a judgment a consumer debt can have long lasting negative consequences, so caution is advised.

12. Exempt Funds – Money that is protected from garnishment by law. Exempt funds cannot be taken to satisfy most judgments. The most obvious protections are social security benefits, payments for an injury received from labor and industries (workers' compensation), and retirement. Beyond that there are certain amounts of funds that are made exempt. The legislative goal of exempting property is to achieve a balance between ensuring a creditor can get paid, but also that a debtor is not made completely unable to pay for basic necessities of life.

13. Claim of Exemption – A judgment debtor can claim exemptions. They are provided a form and instructions for how to do this. Generally, wage garnishment exemptions are automatic and there is not any reason to claim an exemption unless the judgment creditor mistakenly failed to describe a debt as the proper type of debt. Bank garnishments are the more common subject of claims for exemption.

14. First Answer – The initial response that the garnishee must file after receiving the writ. Washington garnishment law gives the garnishee 20 days to submit an answer to the court, to the creditor, and to the debtor. In the case of a wage garnishment, this initial answer is often called the “First Answer.” In it, the employer (garnishee) reports the debtor’s employment status and details of any earnings owed. Per RCW 6.27.340, the first answer for a continuing lien must state whether the debtor is employed, and if so, the debtor’s gross earnings, disposable earnings, and the calculation of the non-exempt amount to be withheld. Essentially, the first answer tells the creditor and court: “Yes, this person works here and here’s how much we’ll garnish per paycheck,” or “No, they don’t work here (or we don’t have their money).” In a bank garnishment, there will only be one answer.

15. Second Answer – The second and final answer that an employer must file at the end of a wage garnishment. Because a continuing lien on wages runs for up to 60 days, Washington requires two answers from the garnishee employer: a First Answer (soon after service) and a Second Answer after the garnishment period. Once the ~60 days are over (or the debt is paid off earlier), the creditor sends the employer a second answer form to fill in the total amount actually withheld over the garnishment period. The Second Answer lets the court and parties know the total garnished sum. Most likely, a new writ of garnishment will be started at this point if the judgment is not fully paid. A 2nd version of the First Answer to Writ of Garnishment will then be needed for the next "round" of garnishment.

16. Judgment on Answer – The court judgment that awards the garnished funds to the creditor. After the garnishee has answered and disclosed assets, the creditor must obtain a court order to actually transfer the money. Strictly speaking it operates as a judgment against the garnishee that can be enforced like any other judgment. In practice, it operates as a final check from the Court to make sure that the creditor did everything they were supposed to do.

17. Default Judgment (against Garnishee) – A judgment entered against the garnishee for the full amount of the debt because the garnishee didn’t follow the rules.

18. Controversion – A challenge to the garnishee’s answer. If either the creditor or debtor believes the garnishee’s answer is incorrect or incomplete, they can file a controverting affidavit. This is almost never done. It is the appropriate means for a debtor to complain if an employer miscalculated the amount to be garnished. However, in practice the forms provided to a judgment debtor are to claim "exemptions" and generally courts will simply permit the imperfect procedure of claiming an exemption to be used to challenge the answer of a garnishee instead of following the appropriate controvert procedure.

19. Prejudgment Attachment (Garnishment) – In limited circumstances a creditor may seek a writ of attachment, which is similar to a garnishment, to freeze funds before a judgment is entered. This is best used in cases where a debtor is known to be fleeing or getting rid of assets.

20. Application for Writ of Garnishment – The formal request filed to the Court to have an issued writ of garnishment.

21. Notice of Garnishment and of Your Rights – A mandatory notice form that must be given to the debtor, explaining their rights and exemptions. Washington requires that for any garnishment involving an individual, the creditor must serve the debtor with this notice (form WPF GARN 01.0450) along with the writ. Practice tip: just serve the form to everyone even businesses.

22. Garnishee’s Processing Fee – A small fee a garnishee can take to process the garnishment. It does not compensate for the actual time. For banks ($20) the processing fee is paid by the judgment creditor, and for employers it can be taken from wages (but rarely is).

23. Ex Parte – Ex parte procedures mean a communication from only one side to the Court. These are usually submitted through online platforms or the mail. The judgment on aswer motion is generally done ex parte, but anything contesting the writ process is done in open court with all parties present.

24. Bond to Discharge Garnishment – A bond the debtor can file to release the garnishment. Legally, this is permitted. What bond company is willing to put forward the bond is unknown. Highly uncommon. Our office has never heard of or seen this ever occur.

25. Garnishment Gurus – A terrific law firm that helps ensure judgment creditors get paid for their judgments.