8.01-512.3 - Form of garnishment summons.
§ 8.01-512.3. Form of garnishment summons.
Any garnishment issued pursuant to § 8.01-511 shall be in the following form:
(a) Front side of summons:
GARNISHMENT SUMMONS
(Court Name)
(Name, address and telephone number of judgment creditor except that when the
judgment creditor's attorney's name, address and telephone number appear on
the summons, only the creditor's name shall be used.)
(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
This is a garnishment against (check only one of the designations below):
[] wages, salary, or other compensation. [] some other
debt due or property
of the judgment debtor.
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 is
checked, then § 34-29 (a) TOTAL BALANCE DUE $ ...
applies. The garnishee shall
rely on this amount.
....................
Date of Judgment
TO ANY AUTHORIZED OFFICER: You are hereby commanded to serve this summons onthe 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 thissummons to answer the Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment of the judgmentcreditor that, by reason of the lien of writ of fieri facias, there is aliability as shown in the statement upon the garnishee.
As garnishee, you shall withhold from the judgment debtor any sums of moneyto which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from you during the periodbetween the date of service of this summons on you and the date for yourappearance in court, subject to the following limitations:
(1) The maximum amount which may be garnished is the "TOTAL BALANCE DUE" asshown 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 TOGARNISHMENT" shall apply.
If a garnishment summons is served on an employer having 1,000 or moreemployees, then money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled fromhis or her employer shall be considered those wages, salaries, commissions,or other earnings which, following service on the garnishee-employer, aredetermined and are payable to the judgment debtor under thegarnishee-employer's normal payroll procedure with a reasonable timeallowance 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 ofissuance of this summons.
(b) A plain language interpretation of § 34-29 shall appear on the reverseside of the summons as follows:
"The following statement is not the law but is an interpretation of the lawwhich is intended to assist those who must respond to this garnishment. Youmay rely on this only for general guidance because the law itself is thefinal word. (Read the law, § 34-29 of the Code of Virginia, for a fullexplanation. A copy of § 34-29 is available at the clerk's office. If you donot understand the law, call a lawyer for help.)
An employer may take as much as 25 percent of an employee's disposableearnings to satisfy this garnishment. But if an employee makes the minimumwage or less for his week's earnings, the employee will ordinarily get tokeep 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 todo so by a court procedure or other legal procedure. No more than 65 percentof 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.
"Disposable earnings" means the money an employee makes after taxes andafter other amounts required by law to be withheld are satisfied. Earningscan be salary, hourly wages, commissions, bonuses, or otherwise, whether paiddirectly to the employee or not. After those earnings are in the bank for 30days, they are not considered earnings any more.
If an employee tries to transfer, assign, or in any way give his earnings toanother person to avoid the garnishment, it will not be legal; earnings arestill earnings.
An employee cannot be fired because he is garnished for one debt.
Financial institutions that receive an employee's paycheck by direct depositdo not have to determine what part of a person's earnings can be garnished.
(1983, c. 399; 1994, c. 40; 1995, c. 379; 1996, c. 1051; 2006, c. 55.)