3. Apply for garnishment
Question & Answer
How do I collect the money I’m owed?Garnishment is when the court takes the money owed to you directly from:
- money the regularly gets, such as wages, or
- the debtor’s bank accounts.
If you won your case and the debtor hasn’t paid you, you can apply for a garnishment order. Depending on where you plan to issue the Notice of Garnishment, you may also need a .
What you can garnish
You can’t garnish more than 20 percent of a person’s wages. For example, if they make $1,000 per week, you can only garnish up to $200.
You also can’t garnish:
- employment insurance
- social assistance
- pension payments
Even if the payments listed above have been deposited into a bank account, they can’t be garnished. Most other types of payments owed to the debtor can be garnished.
Complete the documents
To apply for a , complete:
File both documents at the court.
Serve the documents
Serve the documents on the debtor, and their employer or other . If there is a of the asset you’re trying to garnish, you must also the co-owner.
You can serve the Notice:
- in person
- by mail
- by courier
Someone else may be entitled to part of the money you’re trying to garnish. For example, the debtor may have a joint bank account. This is called a co-owner of the asset. When there is a joint bank account, no more than half of the account can be garnished.
