                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

FORM OF GARNISHMENT SUMMONS (§ 8.01-512.3)

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&#8217;s
attorney&#8217;s name, address and telephone number appear on the summons, only
the creditor&#8217;s name shall be used.)			(Name, address and telephone number
of judgment creditor&#8217;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 DISPOSABLEEARNINGS SUBJECT TO
GARNISHMENT			STATEMENT			[ ] 50% [ ] 55% [ ] 60% [ ]
65%			Interest			________________________________________Date of Judgment			TO
ANY AUTHORIZED OFFICER: You are hereby commanded to serve this summons on the
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 this summons
   to answer the Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment of the judgment creditor
   that, by reason of the lien of writ of fieri facias, there is a liability as
   shown in the statement upon the garnishee.
   				As garnishee, you shall withhold from the judgment debtor any sums of
   money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from you during the
   period between the date of service of this summons on you and the date for
   your appearance in court, subject to the following limitations:

   1. The maximum amount which may be garnished is the &#8220;TOTAL BALANCE
   DUE&#8221; as shown on this summons.

   2. If the sums of money being garnished are earnings of the judgment debtor,
   then the provision of &#8220;MAXIMUM PORTION OF DISPOSABLE EARNINGS SUBJECT TO
   GARNISHMENT&#8221; shall apply.
   				If a garnishment summons is served on an employer having 1,000 or more
   employees, then money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from
   his or her employer shall be considered those wages, salaries, commissions, or
   other earnings which, following service on the garnishee-employer, are
   determined and are payable to the judgment debtor under the
   garnishee-employer&#8217;s normal payroll procedure with a reasonable time
   allowance 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 of issuance of this summons.

b. A plain language interpretation of § 34-29 shall appear on the reverse side
of the summons as follows:
			&#8220;The following statement is not the law but is an interpretation of the
law which is intended to assist those who must respond to this garnishment. You
may rely on this only for general guidance because the law itself is the final
word. (Read the law, § 34-29 of the Code of Virginia, for a full explanation. A
copy of § 34-29 is available at the clerk&#8217;s office. If you do not
understand the law, call a lawyer for help.)			An employer may take as much as
25 percent of an employee&#8217;s disposable earnings to satisfy this
garnishment. But if an employee makes the minimum wage or less for his
week&#8217;s earnings, the employee will ordinarily get to keep 40 times the
minimum hourly wage.&#8221;			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 to
   do so by a court procedure or other legal procedure. No more than 65 percent
   of an employee&#8217;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.
   				&#8220;Disposable earnings&#8221; means the money an employee makes after
   taxes and after other amounts required by law to be withheld are satisfied.
   Earnings can be salary, hourly wages, commissions, bonuses, or otherwise,
   whether paid directly to the employee or not. After those earnings are in the
   bank for 30 days, they are not considered earnings any more.				If an employee
   tries to transfer, assign, or in any way give his earnings to another person
   to avoid the garnishment, it will not be legal; earnings are still
   earnings.				An employee cannot be fired because he is garnished for one
   debt.				Financial institutions that receive an employee&#8217;s paycheck by
   direct deposit do not have to determine what part of a person&#8217;s earnings
   can be garnished.

HISTORY: 1983, c. 399; 1994, c. 40; 1995, c. 379; 1996, c. 1051; 2006, c. 55;
2017, cc. 36, 143.