Tennessee Procedural Requirements for Wage Garnishment

[Credit Expert]

Tennessee Procedural Requirements

All judgments and decrees for money may be enforced by execution. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 261 103. Personal property to the aggregate value of four thousand dollars debtor's equity interest shall be exempt from execution, seizure or attachment in the hands or possession of any person who is a bona fide citizen permanently residing in Tennessee, and such person shall be entitled to this exemption without regard to his vocation or pursuit or to the ownership of his abode. Such person may select for exemption the items of the owned and possessed personal property, including money and funds on deposit with a bank or other financial institution, up to the aggregate value of four thousand dollars debtor's equity interest. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262102.

All moneys received by a resident of the Statutee, as pension from the Statutee of Tennessee, or any subdivision or municipality thereof, before receipt, or while in his hands or upon deposit in the bank, shall be exempt from execution, attachment or garnishment other than an order for assignment of support issued under _ 365501, whether such pensioner is the head of a family or not. Any funds or other assets payable to a participant or beneficiary from, or any interest of any participant or beneficiary in, a retirement plan which is qualified under __ 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), and 408 of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are exempt from any and all claims of creditors of the participant or beneficiary, except the Statutee of Tennessee. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262 104.

The officer may summon, in writing, any person as garnishee, to appear at the court from which the execution is issued, or before any other court to whom the execution is returnable, as the case may be, and answer the garnishment, at a time set by the clerk of the court not less than ten days after date of issuance, except that such ten day requirement shall not apply when the execution was issued from a court and either the officer or the clerk of the court shall set the time when such garnishee shall appear. The summons to the garnishee shall contain a notice to the garnishee. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262203.

The judgment creditor may examine the garnishee under oath. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262204. Upon requesting the issuance of an execution or garnishment, the judgment creditor shall file a Statuteement showing the judgment debtor's last known address, the amount owed on the judgment, and the judgment creditor's address for mailing any notice required. If a clerk issues an execution or garnishment without demand, the clerk shall ascertain such information from the court records. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262402.

No clerk shall issue an execution or garnishment unless it provides the required notice. No sheriff or other officer shall summon a garnishee unless the garnishment provides the required notice. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262403. A sheriff or other officer who levies an execution upon property of a judgment debtor shall immediately thereafter on that same or next working day provide the judgment debtor with a copy of the execution that describes the property levied upon and with a completed copy of the notice by mailing them first class, postage prepaid, to the judgment debtor at the provided address, or by actual delivery to the judgment debtor. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262405.

A sheriff or other officer who summons a garnishee shall provide the garnishee with three copies of the garnishment summons. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262406.

Interest Rate at which Judgments Accrue Interest

On judgments, including decrees, shall be computed at the effective rate of ten percent per annum, except as may be otherwise provided or permitted by Statuteute. Where a judgment is based on a note, contract, or other writing fixing a rate of interest within the legal limits, the judgment shall bear interest at the rate so fixed. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 4714121. Interest shall be computed on every judgment from the day on which the jury or the court, sitting without a jury, returned the verdict without regard to a motion for a new trial. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 4714122. Applicable Forms Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262203. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 262404.