Garnishments
Definitions
Garnishor – A party to a lawsuit that has obtained a money judgment against another party, and issues a garnishment for collection of said judgment.
Judgment Debtor – A party to a lawsuit that has had a money judgment entered against them, making their wages, bank accounts and other assets subject to garnishment and/or execution.
Garnishee – The employer, bank or other institution that has possession of assets of the judgment debtor (wages, bank accounts, etc.) that are subject to garnishment.
Pro Se – A party representing themselves in a lawsuit without the assistance of an attorney of record.
Please note: When proceeding as either a Pro Se Plaintiff or Pro Se Defendant, you are representing to the court that you understand the law and legal procedures that need to be followed in your type of case, and you are fully capable of representing yourself. The clerk’s office cannot give you legal advice or assist you with any documents that need to be filed. If you are unable to proceed on your own, you will need to consult an attorney.
Changes to Laws Governing Garnishments
Effective January 1, 2016, the laws pertaining to garnishments changed significantly. The Missouri Supreme Court Rule governing the garnishment process is Rule 90. Whether you are a Garnishor, Judgment Debtor or Garnishee, you should read and familiarize yourself with this in order to understand what is required of you and avoid violating the law. The Circuit Clerk’s office is prohibited from giving legal advice or assistance. If you are still uncertain as to how to proceed after reviewing Rule 90, you should consult an attorney.
The new law allows a garnishor to file a continuous garnishment against a judgment debtor. This means the garnishment will be in effect from the date it is served on the garnishee until the judgment is paid in full or the judgment debtor is no longer employed by the garnishee, whichever occurs first. The new forms for both the Request for Garnishment and the Interrogatories to Garnishee are available at the Circuit Clerk’s office located on the second floor of the Judicial Building at 1010 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, Missouri. You may also find them on the Forms page of this website found here.
If an attorney files a continuous garnishment on behalf of the garnishor, the attorney has the option to request that payments made by the garnishee be sent either directly to that attorney or to the Greene County Circuit Clerk’s office. If a pro se party files a continuous garnishment, payments must be made through the Greene County Circuit Clerk’s office. Pro se parties do not have the option of having the payments made directly to them.
If you opt to file a continuous garnishment, whether you are an attorney or a pro se plaintiff, you will be required to file a Statement of Judgment Balance with the Circuit Clerk’s office every six (6) months, pursuant to the provisions of Rule 90.
The $10.00 clerk fee still applies to all garnishments filed, including continuous garnishments. This fee needs to be paid simultaneously with the submission of the request for garnishment.