Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 18 § 18.838 — Instructions to garnishee form

Instructions to garnishee form. Instructions to garnishees must be in substantially the following form: ______________________________________________________________________________ INSTRUCTIONS TO GARNISHEE Except as specifically provided in these instructions, you must complete and deliver the Garnishee Response within seven calendar days after you receive the writ of garnishment. If the writ does not comply with Oregon law, the writ is not effective to garnish any property of the Debtor, but you still must complete and deliver the Garnishee Response. You must complete and deliver the response even though you cannot determine from the writ whether you hold any property or owe any debt to the Debtor. If the seventh calendar day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you must deliver your response on or before the next following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. The writ is not effective, and you need not make a Garnishee Response, if: •     You do not receive the writ within 60 days after the date of issuance shown on the face of the writ. •     You do not receive an original writ of garnishment or a copy of the writ. Statutes that may affect your rights and duties under the writ can be found in ORS 18.600 to 18.850. NOTE: The Garnishor may be the Creditor, the attorney for the Creditor or some other person who is authorized by law to issue the writ of garnishment. See the writ to determine who the Garnishor is. STEP 1. FILL OUT THE GARNISHEE RESPONSE. All garnishees who are required to deliver a garnishee response must fill in Part I of the Garnishee Response. Garnishees who employ the Debtor must also fill in Part II of the response. You should keep a copy of the response for your records. Completing Part I of the Garnishee Response. If you discover before you deliver your response that a bankruptcy petition has been filed by or on behalf of the Debtor, and the bankruptcy petition was filed after a judgment was entered against the Debtor or after the debt otherwise became subject to garnishment (see the date specified in the writ), you must put a check by the appropriate statement in Part I. If a bankruptcy petition has been filed, you should not make any payments to the Garnishor unless the court orders otherwise. You need not complete any other part of the response, but you still must sign the response and deliver it in the manner described in Step 2 of these instructions. In all other cases you must list in Part I all money and personal property of the Debtor that is in your possession, control or custody at the time of delivery of the writ. You must also list all debts that you owe to the Debtor, whether or not those debts are currently due (e.g., money loaned to you by the Debtor that is to be repaid at a later time). If you are the employer of the Debtor at the time the writ is delivered to you, you must put a check by the appropriate statement in Part I. In addition, you must complete Part II of the response. If you believe that you may hold property of the Debtor or that you owe a debt to the Debtor, but you are not sure, you must put a check by the appropriate statement and provide an explanation. When you find out what property you hold that belongs to the Debtor, or you find out whether you owe money to the Debtor and how much, you must prepare and deliver an amended response. You must do this even if you find out that you have no property of the Debtor or that you do not owe anything to the Debtor. If you determine that the writ, on its face, does not comply with Oregon laws governing writs of garnishment, or if you are unable to determine the identity of the Debtor from the information in the writ, then the writ is not effective to garnish any property of the Debtor. You must put a check by the appropriate statement in Part I and provide an explanation. You still must complete the response and deliver the response in the manner described in Step 2 of these instructions. If you have received an order to withhold income that applies to the income of the Debtor and that order has priority over the garnishment, and if compliance with the order will reduce or eliminate the money or property that you would otherwise deliver under the garnishment, you must put a check by the appropriate statement in Part I. You still must fill out the remainder of the response and deliver the response in the manner described in Step 2 of these instructions. If you employ the Debtor, you still must complete Part II of the response. If you receive notice of a challenge to the garnishment before you send your response, you must complete and deliver your response as otherwise required by these instructions. However, see Step 3 of these instructions regarding payment of money or delivery of property after receipt of notice of a challenge to the garnishment. If you owe a debt to the Debtor and the Debtor owes a debt to the holder of a