BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to garnishment; and amending RCW 6.27.010, 6.27.140, 6.27.150, and 6.27.310.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 6.27.010 and 1987 c 442 s 1001 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) As used in this chapter, the term "earnings" means compensation paid or payable to an individual for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program.

(2) As used in this chapter, the term "disposable earnings" means that part of earnings remaining after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required by law to be withheld. As used in this chapter, "amounts required by law to be withheld" does not include any amount withheld pursuant to any order or wage assignment voluntarily granted for the support of any person pursuant to chapter 26.18 or 74.20A RCW.

Sec. 2. RCW 6.27.140 and 1987 c 442 s 1014 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The notice required by RCW 6.27.130(1) to be mailed to or served on an individual judgment debtor shall be in the following form, printed or typed in type no smaller than elite type:

NOTICE OF GARNISHMENT

AND OF YOUR RIGHTS

A Writ of Garnishment issued by a Washington court has been or will be served on the garnishee named in the attached copy of the writ. After receipt of the writ, the garnishee is required to withhold payment of any money that was due to you and to withhold any other property of yours that the garnishee held or controlled. This notice of your rights is required by law.

YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING EXEMPTION RIGHTS:

WAGES. If the garnishee is your employer who owes wages or other personal earnings to you, your employer is required to pay amounts to you that are exempt under state and federal laws, as explained in the writ of garnishment. You should receive a copy of your employer's answer, which will show how the exempt amount was calculated. If the garnishment is for child support, the exempt amount paid to you will be forty percent of wages due you, but if you are supporting a spouse or dependent child, you are entitled to claim an additional ten percent as exempt.

BANK ACCOUNTS. If the garnishee is a bank or other institution with which you have an account in which you have deposited benefits such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security, veterans' benefits, unemployment compensation, or a United States pension, you may claim the account as fully exempt if you have deposited only such benefit funds in the account. It may be partially exempt even though you have deposited money from other sources in the same account. An exemption is also available under RCW 26.16.200, providing that funds in a community bank account that can be identified as the earnings of a stepparent are exempt from a garnishment on the child support obligation of the parent.

OTHER EXEMPTIONS. If the garnishee holds other property of yours, some or all of it may be exempt under RCW 6.15.010, a Washington statute that exempts up to ((~~five hundred~~)) one thousand dollars of property of your choice (including up to one hundred dollars in cash ((or)) and up to one hundred dollars in a bank account) and certain property such as household furnishings, tools of trade, and ((a)) motor vehicles (all limited by differing dollar values).

HOW TO CLAIM EXEMPTIONS. Fill out the enclosed claim form and mail or deliver it as described in instructions on the claim form. If the plaintiff does not object to your claim, the funds or other property that you have claimed as exempt must be released not later than 10 days after the plaintiff receives your claim form. If the plaintiff objects, the law requires a hearing not later than 14 days after the plaintiff receives your claim form, and notice of the objection and hearing date will be mailed to you at the address that you put on the claim form.

THE LAW ALSO PROVIDES OTHER EXEMPTION RIGHTS. IF NECESSARY, AN ATTORNEY CAN ASSIST YOU TO ASSERT THESE AND OTHER RIGHTS, BUT YOU MUST ACT IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID LOSS OF RIGHTS BY DELAY.

(2) The claim form required by RCW 6.27.130(1) to be mailed to or served on an individual judgment debtor shall be in the following form, printed or typed in type no smaller than elite type:

[Caption to be filled in by judgment creditor

or plaintiff before mailing.]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name of Court

............................. No. . . . . .

Plaintiff,

vs.

............................. EXEMPTION CLAIM

Defendant,

.............................

Garnishee Defendant

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.Read this whole form after reading the enclosed notice. Then put an X in the box or boxes that describe your exemption claim or claims and write in the necessary information on the blank lines.

2.Make two copies of the completed form. Deliver the original form by first class mail or in person to the clerk of the court, whose address is shown at the bottom of the writ of garnishment. Deliver one of the copies by first class mail or in person to the plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney, whose name and address are shown at the bottom of the writ. Keep the other copy. YOU SHOULD DO THIS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT NO LATER THAN 28 DAYS (4 WEEKS) AFTER THE DATE ON THE WRIT.

I/We claim the following money or property as exempt:

IF BANK ACCOUNT IS GARNISHED:

[ ] The account contains payments from:

[ ]AFDC, SSI, or other public assistance. I receive $. . . . . monthly.

[ ]Social Security. I receive $. . . . . monthly.

[ ]Veterans' Benefits. I receive $. . . . . monthly.

[ ]U.S. Government Pension. I receive $. . . . . monthly.

[ ]Unemployment Compensation. I receive $. . . . . monthly.

[ ]Child support. I receive $. . . . . monthly.

[ ]Other. Explain..........................................

.......................................................

IF EXEMPTION IN BANK ACCOUNT IS CLAIMED, ANSWER ONE OR BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING:

[ ]No money other than from above payments are in the account.

[ ]Moneys in addition to the above payments have been deposited in the account. Explain .....................................

.......................................................

IF EARNINGS ARE GARNISHED FOR CHILD SUPPORT:

[ ]I claim maximum exemption.

[ ]I am supporting another child or other children.

[ ]I am supporting a husband or a wife.

IF PENSION OR RETIREMENT BENEFITS ARE GARNISHED:

[ ]Name and address of employer who is paying the benefits:.....

OTHER PROPERTY:

[ ]Describe property ...........................................

(If you claim other personal property as exempt, you must attach a list of all other personal property that you own.)

............................. ...............................

Print: Your name

If married,

name of husband/wife

............................. ...............................

Your signature

Signature of husband

or wife

............................. ...............................

Address

(if different from yours)

............................. ...............................

Telephone number

(if different from yours)

CAUTION: If the plaintiff objects to your claim, you will have to go to court and give proof of your claim. For example, if you claim that a bank account is exempt, you may have to show the judge your bank statements and papers that show the source of the money you deposited in the bank. Your claim may be granted more quickly if you attach copies of such proof to your claim.

IF THE JUDGE DENIES YOUR EXEMPTION CLAIM, YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY THE PLAINTIFF'S COSTS. IF THE JUDGE DECIDES THAT YOU DID NOT MAKE THE CLAIM IN GOOD FAITH, HE OR SHE MAY DECIDE THAT YOU MUST PAY THE PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY FEES.

Sec. 3. RCW 6.27.150 and 1991 c 365 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, if the garnishee is an employer owing the defendant earnings, then for each week of such earnings, an amount shall be exempt from garnishment which is the greatest of the following:

(a) Thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by section 206(a)(1) of Title 29 of the United States Code in effect at the time the earnings are payable; or

(b) Seventy-five percent of the disposable earnings of the defendant.

(2) In the case of a garnishment based on a judgment or other court order for child support or court order for spousal maintenance, other than a mandatory wage assignment order pursuant to chapter 26.18 RCW, or a mandatory assignment of retirement benefits pursuant to chapter 41.50 RCW, the exemption shall be fifty percent of the disposable earnings of the defendant if the individual is supporting a spouse or dependent child (other than a spouse or child on whose behalf the garnishment is brought), or forty percent of the disposable earnings of the defendant if the individual is not supporting such a spouse or dependent child.

(3) The exemptions stated in this section shall apply whether such earnings are paid, or are to be paid, weekly, monthly, or at other intervals, and whether earnings are due the defendant for one week, a portion thereof, or for a longer period. In the case of commissions or bonuses, the exemptions shall be calculated for the number of weeks intervening since the last payment of earnings made to the defendant.

(4) For purposes of this chapter, any order for mandatory wage assignment under chapter 26.18 RCW, or any wage assignment voluntarily granted when an application of motion for mandatory wage assignment under chapter 26.18 or 74.20A RCW is pending, constitutes an order for garnishment.

(5) Unless directed otherwise by the court, the garnishee shall determine and deduct exempt amounts under this section as directed in the writ of garnishment and answer, and shall pay these amounts to the defendant.

((~~(5)~~)) (6) No money due or earned as earnings as defined in RCW 6.27.010 shall be exempt from garnishment under the provisions of RCW 6.15.010, as now or hereafter amended.

Sec. 4. RCW 6.27.310 and 1987 c 442 s 1031 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, in all cases where it shall appear from the answer of the garnishee that the garnishee was indebted to the defendant when the writ of garnishment was served, no controversion is pending, there has been no discharge or judgment against the garnishee entered, and one year has passed since the filing of the answer of the garnishee, the court, after ten days' notice in writing to the plaintiff, shall enter an order dismissing the writ of garnishment and discharging the garnishee((~~: PROVIDED, That this provision~~)).

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, when the amount held by the garnishee pursuant to the writ is one hundred dollars or less and the debtor has failed to claim said amount as exempt and sixty days have elapsed since the filing of the answer on the writ without judgment against the garnishee based on their answer to the writ having been taken, the writ shall be deemed dismissed and the garnishee discharged.

(3) This section shall have no effect if the cause of action between plaintiff and defendant is pending on the trial calendar, or if any party files an affidavit that the action is still pending.