Bank Account Frozen by a Garnishment in Virginia?
How to Get Your Money Back.
If you logged in and found your bank account frozen, a creditor with a court judgment has likely served a garnishment summons on your bank. In Virginia a judgment creditor can freeze the entire balance of your checking or savings account, leaving you unable to pay rent, buy food, or cover gas. The good news: Virginia law gives you a tool to recover that money — the Virginia Homestead Deed.
How your account gets frozen
A garnishment starts after a creditor wins a judgment against you. With that judgment, the creditor asks the court to issue a garnishment summons to your bank. Your bank holds the funds until the court’s return date (court date), when the money is turned over to the creditor unless you claim an exemption first.
What you can protect
Under the Virginia homestead exemption you can protect up to $5,000 of money and personal property (up to $10,000 if you are 65 or older, and an additional $10,000 if you are a veteran with a 40% or greater service-connected disability), plus $500 for each dependent. These amounts apply to the cash sitting in your frozen account.
Certain personal items — like household furnishings, tools of the trade, and a vehicle — may also be protected separately under the poor debtor’s exemption, in addition to the amounts above.
Two steps to recover your money
First, record a Virginia Homestead Deed in the Circuit Court land records for the city or county where you live, claiming your exemption in the garnished funds. Second, file your homestead claim with the court handling the garnishment — usually the General District Court that issued the summons — before or on the court date (return date) listed on the summons. Miss that return date (court date) and you can lose the protection, so time is critical.
Act quickly. Prepare your garnishment homestead deed online, have it reviewed by an attorney, and follow the included filing instructions. Learn more about garnishment in Virginia, what a homestead deed is, and how much it costs.