Judgment Enforcement And Safe Deposit Boxes

Bank levies are the first method to try, when you want to recover your judgment. That being the situation, the first info to attempt to discover is where the judgment debtor banks. Most judgment debtors don't have bank safe deposit boxes (or Safety Deposit Boxes - SDBs), however some do. Bank garnishments require a writ from the court. My articles are my opinions and are not, legal advice. I am a judgment broker, and not an attorney. If you ever want a strategy to use or legal advice, you should contact an attorney.

Even if you know that your debtor has a bank safety deposit box (SDB), those are expensive to garnish. Garnishment instructions should request money from the judgment debtor's bank and checking accounts first; and then to check for any safe deposit boxes in the name of the debtor. At that point, there is a decision to make, whether you should take a chance with the value of the contents of what is inside their SDB. If you can afford to pay the additional expenses of having the Sheriff levy the debtors SDB, it might be worth specifically requesting the SDB contents with the garnishment, when it is served on the judgment debtor's bank.

Similar to the way that certain judgment owners aren't aware that the contents of their debtor's safe deposit box can be levied, some debtors believe that the contents of the SDB at their bank is protected from creditor bank garnishments. Debtors may think they can hide certain money in a SDB, and nobody will ever find out. They might keep a wide variety of assets such as cash, collectibles, documents about notes receivable, jewelry, etc. That misunderstanding by judgment debtors, can be great news for judgment creditors. Those assets may be subject to a judgment owner's bank levy execution.

To garnish a judgment debtor's safe deposit box at their bank, one need to make a request that the Sheriff and the bank check for, and possibly seize the contents of the debtor's SDB, on the levy or execution forms filed at your court, or with the correct authority. Once the Sheriff, or other proper representative of the court; serves your paperwork on the correct bank, the contents of your judgment debtor's SDB, is subject to being used as payment toward satisfaction of the judgment.

For a levy to include checking for safety deposit boxes, instruction letters to the Sheriff should say something similar to: "please have the Sheriff levy all funds under the name of Dave Debtman SSN 555-555-5555 at MoneyGrubber bank, 999 Money Street, Cupertino, CA, 90000, for the judgment debtor. Please garnish first any and all savings and deposit accounts, and then if the writ of execution is not fully satisfied, check for any and all safety deposit boxes in the name of the judgment debtor".

In California, CCP 700.150 specifies the details on how safe deposit boxes are garnished, and how debtors get served notice. Government Code Section 26723 is referenced, which simply specifies a charge of $125 to open a SDB. The judgment debtor may be allowed to open their SDB voluntarily, and some do. Otherwise, the judgment owner must pay for forcing open and then fixing the SDB. Most of the time, this additional levy expense can be documented and added to the judgment debtor's debt.

What will happen if the garnishment finds a debtor's safe deposit box? When your Sheriff levy instructions include a promise that you will pay (or prepay) the extra expenses of garnishing a debtor's bank safety deposit box, their SDB will get opened. Sometimes the key to open the SDB will appear, which usually saves the judgment owner money. Way too often, a locksmith needs to be hired to force the safe deposit box open.

After the bank's garnishment section responds with a "Memorandum of Garnishee", it will indicate any SDBs kept in the name of the debtor. At that point, the Sheriff will send you a letter and give you (e.g.) 5 days to respond that you want the box(es) opened by force. If you do, you will have to pay your Sheriff some cash (e.g., $160 per visit) and most often, the bank more money (e.g., $320 per box) to drill the box(es).

The bank offers your judgment debtor a chance to come down to their bank to open their box voluntarily (however not to remove any contents). If your judgment debtor doesn't accept their bank's kind offer, their safe deposit boxholder privileges will be forfeited and the drilling happens on the appointed day. Some Sheriffs require a judgment creditor to be present on this festive occasion, others don't.

Sometimes your debtor or a 3rd-party, will claim some or all of what's in the safe deposit box does not belong to the judgment debtor. In that case, the non-debtor co-owner would have to come forth and file a third-party claim of exemption with the Sheriff, indicating the source of the assets or funds. If you suspect fraud, you might be able to subpoena records related to the ownership of the contents of the safe deposit box.

Will your expense of levying your debtor's SDB contents justify your expense? Anything could happen. Their box might be empty, or it could have stolen property, valuable coins, pills, or a thick stack of $50 bills, or most anything else that would fit. Hopefully, you will find a treasure waiting to satisfy your judgment. Your debtor can attend, along with anyone else that has something in their SDB. It's usually fun to see the debtor's face when their (formerly private) safety deposit box is opened.

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