Bank account garnishment in Georgia — step by step

Wage garnishment is a faucet; bank garnishment is a bucket. When it lands while money is in the account, you can capture a large chunk of a judgment in one stroke. Here's how the bucket works in Georgia.

Step 1: Find the bank

You can't serve "all banks." You serve a specific institution, so the first job is intelligence: checks the debtor wrote you (the routing number is on the bottom), payment-app transfers, records from the underlying lawsuit, or post-judgment discovery — Georgia lets judgment creditors send interrogatories the debtor must answer under oath, including where they bank [verify].

Step 2: File and serve the garnishment

File a garnishment affidavit under O.C.G.A. Title 18, Chapter 4 [verify] in a court with jurisdiction over the bank — banks doing business in Georgia are reachable through their registered agents. You'll state the judgment, the unpaid balance, and serve the bank as garnishee. Filing plus service typically runs $60–$100 [verify].

Timing is strategy. A garnishment served the day after rent clears catches a thin account; served on a payday or tax-refund week, a fat one. Nothing prevents serving again later if the first pass catches little. [verify]

Step 3: The freeze and the bank's answer

On service, the bank freezes what the debtor holds, up to the judgment amount. A regular (non-continuing) bank garnishment generally captures funds in the account during the statutory answer window; the bank then files its answer with the court — between 30 and 45 days after service — reporting what it caught [verify].

The debtor finds out fast (their card starts declining), so expect the phone call. A settlement offer at this stage is common and worth considering: certain money now versus contested money later.

Step 4: Exemptions

The debtor receives notice of exemption rights and can claim them quickly. The big ones are federal benefits — Social Security, SSI, VA benefits — which keep their protection in a bank account, and which banks must auto-protect for two months of directly deposited benefits [verify]. Commingled accounts (benefits mixed with wages) get messy; courts sort out what's traceable.

If an exemption claim is filed, a prompt hearing follows. Bring the judgment math; the debtor brings the account's source-of-funds story.

Step 5: Getting paid

If no exemption defeats the catch, the court orders the bank to pay the frozen funds into court or to you, and the judgment balance drops accordingly. Repeat as needed — or pair the bucket with the faucet and run a wage garnishment for the rest.

Can I garnish a joint account?

Often yes, but joint owners can contest based on whose money it is — a recurring fight in garnishment court. Document what you can about the debtor's deposits. [verify]

What if the account is empty?

The bank answers 'no funds' and you're out the filing fee. Better intelligence and better timing on the next pass — or switch to wages.

This article is legal information, not legal advice. Statute references are tagged [verify] pending review by a licensed Georgia attorney.