Also known as: garnishing creditors · garnishor · judgment creditor
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judgment creditor who obtains a writ of garnishment directing a third party holding assets of the judgment debtor to pay those assets over to satisfy the judgment.
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Gina Griffin obtained a judgment against the beneficiary of an irrevocable trust. She then served a writ of garnishment on the trustee for services she had provided to protect the beneficiary's interest in the trust. The court permitted the garnishment to proceed because the spendthrift provision could not block her claim.
Georgia Gibbs held a judgment against a general partner of a limited partnership. She attempted to garnish the partner's personal assets to satisfy a partnership debt. The court denied the garnishment because no prior judgment had been obtained against the partnership itself and the writ of execution had not been returned unsatisfied.
Greta Goldstein secured a judgment against a partner based on a partnership obligation. She sought to garnish the partner's individual bank account. The court refused the garnishment because the partnership had not first been sued to judgment and no writ of execution had been returned unsatisfied.
Gregory Gates held a judgment against a general partner of a limited partnership. Partnership assets proved clearly insufficient to satisfy the judgment. The court granted permission for garnishment of the partner's personal assets after finding that exhaustion would be excessively burdensome.
Gary Goldman obtained a judgment against a partner based on a partnership claim. Partnership assets were clearly insufficient and exhaustion would impose excessive burden. The court authorized garnishment of the partner's personal assets as an appropriate exercise of equitable powers.
Gideon Graves held a judgment against a partner in a partnership. He applied for and obtained a charging order against the partner's transferable interest. The order created a lien requiring the partnership to pay future distributions directly to Gideon until the judgment was satisfied.
A garnishing creditor may reach trust distributions when the creditor has provided services for the protection of the beneficiary's interest in the trust. The spendthrift provision is unenforceable against such a creditor under the uniform trust code.
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