How to Dissolve a Writ of Garnishment in Florida

A judgment debtor whose bank account or wages have been frozen by a writ of garnishment can challenge and dissolve the writ. Florida’s garnishment statute imposes procedural requirements so detailed that creditor errors are common, and each error creates a potential ground for dissolution. A debtor who acts quickly and identifies the right basis for a challenge can recover frozen funds and force the creditor to start the process over.

Four separate grounds support dissolution: the garnished funds are exempt, the creditor’s factual allegations are untrue, the creditor failed to follow mandatory procedural requirements, or the writ has expired. Each ground involves different procedures, different deadlines, and different burdens of proof.

Claim of Exemption

Filing a Claim of Exemption under § 77.041 is the most common way to dissolve a garnishment. The creditor must mail the debtor a notice that lists the major categories of exempt property and includes a Claim of Exemption form. The debtor completes the form, has it notarized, files it with the clerk within 20 days after receiving the notice, and serves a copy on the creditor and the garnishee. Debtors who missed that deadline have lost exemption claims to retirement funds and home sale proceeds.

Common exemptions include:

• Head of household wages under § 222.11
• Social Security and other federal benefits protected under 42 U.S.C. § 407 and 31 CFR Part 212
• Retirement account funds exempt under § 222.21
• Disability benefits and veterans’ benefits
• Tenants by entireties bank accounts protected from individual creditors of one spouse

After the debtor files the Claim of Exemption, the creditor must respond within a tight deadline. A creditor who received the claim by hand delivery has 8 business days to file a sworn written statement contesting it. If the claim was served by mail, the creditor has 14 business days to object. If the creditor fails to file an objection within the applicable period, no hearing is required, and the clerk of court must automatically dissolve the writ and notify all parties by mail.

A creditor who misses the objection deadline loses the garnishment regardless of whether the exemption claim has merit. The statute does not give the court discretion to excuse a late objection. In Marquez v. BlueCare Home Health Services, Inc., 116 So. 3d 563 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013), the Third District held that a trial court has no authority to vacate the clerk’s certificate of dissolution.

If the creditor does file a timely objection, the court schedules a hearing as soon as practicable. The debtor must present evidence supporting the claimed exemption. A head of household claim typically requires tax returns showing dependent children, pay stubs, and bank statements tracing the source of deposits. A tenants by entireties claim is usually proved with the account signature card and a marriage certificate. The court then rules on whether the funds are exempt and either dissolves the writ or enters a final judgment of garnishment.

Challenging the Creditor’s Factual Allegations

A debtor has a separate remedy under § 77.07(1), a motion to dissolve the writ that challenges the grounds the creditor relied on to obtain it. The court must set the motion for an immediate hearing. If the creditor cannot prove the factual basis for its motion, the garnishment is dissolved and the case proceeds as if no writ had been issued.

A post-judgment writ requires the creditor’s motion to state only the amount of the judgment, so the debtor’s challenge on this ground is that the judgment has been satisfied or the amount is wrong.

A prejudgment writ requires sworn allegations that the debt is just, due, and unpaid. The creditor must also swear that the garnishment is not sued out to injure the debtor or the garnishee and that the debtor will not have enough property in the state and county to satisfy the claim. If any of these prejudgment allegations is untrue, the debtor can move for dissolution. A prejudgment writ additionally requires the creditor to show a reasonable probability of prevailing in the underlying action.

This ground is distinct from the Claim of Exemption. A debtor who files a motion under § 77.07(1) is not asserting that the garnished funds are exempt. The debtor is challenging the factual basis for the writ itself. Either party may demand a jury trial on the factual issues under § 77.08.

The 20-Day Deadline and Default

The debtor’s right to challenge the creditor’s factual allegations carries a hard deadline. Once the creditor serves the garnishee’s answer and the required § 77.055 notice, the debtor has 20 days to file and serve a motion to dissolve stating that any allegation in the creditor’s motion is untrue.

The statute provides that an untimely motion to dissolve shall be stricken as an “unauthorized nullity,” and the proceedings move into a default posture. In default posture, the debtor can no longer contest the creditor’s factual allegations, and the court can enter a final judgment of garnishment based on the creditor’s motion and the garnishee’s answer alone.

The 20-day window applies only to challenges based on untrue allegations in the creditor’s motion. A Claim of Exemption runs on a separate clock that starts earlier, usually weeks before the creditor’s post-answer notice issues. The exemption form is due within 20 days after the debtor receives the mailed notice. A debtor responding to a garnishment on both grounds must meet each deadline independently, because neither filing preserves the other.

Sample Motion to Dissolve Writ of Garnishment

A motion to dissolve a writ of garnishment is a short numbered pleading that identifies the writ, denies a specific allegation in the creditor’s motion, and asks the court for an immediate hearing. Florida’s dissolution statute lists what the motion must do but includes no form, so the downloadable sample is an original motion built to the requirements of section 77.07.

The completed motion must be filed and served within 20 days after the certificate of service date on the creditor’s section 77.055 notice. A debtor preparing the form close to the deadline should file it through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal the same day it is signed, because a late motion is stricken rather than heard.

The motion fits a debtor who can deny an allegation the creditor actually made in its motion for the writ, most often the amount still owed on a judgment the debtor has already paid. A debtor whose garnished wages or account are exempt files a claim of exemption under section 77.041 instead, on the exemption form served with the writ. The sample includes an optional exemption paragraph for a debtor raising both grounds, which preserves the exemption in the motion but does not substitute for the sworn claim of exemption form.

Procedural Defects as Grounds for Dissolution

Florida courts read Chapter 77’s procedures strictly, and a party that misses a step loses the round it governs. The Second District stated the rule in Gigliotti Contracting North, Inc. v. Traffic Control Products of North Florida, Inc., 788 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). The Fourth District applied it in Pineiro v. American Express Card Services Co., 105 So. 3d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013).

Trial courts have dissolved writs for a creditor’s failure to mail the debtor the § 77.041(2) documents. That happened to two of the three writs in Cullen v. Marsh, 34 So. 3d 235 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010), though the appeal there decided only that the omission did not make the writs sanctionable.

Common procedural defects that support dissolution include:

• Failing to serve the debtor with the required notice and Claim of Exemption form on time
• Failing to serve the garnishee’s answer on the debtor within five days under § 77.055
• Failing to post the required bond for a prejudgment garnishment
• Defects in the sworn allegations of a prejudgment motion
• Failing to state the judgment amount due and owing in the motion for writ
• Misidentifying the garnishee or the debtor in the writ

The motion requirements differ by stage. After judgment, § 77.03 requires only an unverified motion stating the amount of the judgment. Before judgment, § 77.031 requires a verified motion swearing to specific facts. A motion that omits a required element, or swears to something the debtor can show is untrue, gives the debtor grounds to move for dissolution.

Service defects are particularly common. Chapter 77 specifies which documents the creditor must serve, on whom, and by when; a break anywhere in that chain gives grounds for dissolution. Failure to provide the post-answer notice required by § 77.055 is itself an independent ground for dissolving the writ, even if the creditor complied with every other requirement.

Automatic Dissolution at Six Months

A writ of garnishment automatically dissolves if the creditor does not file a dismissal or motion for final judgment within six months. The creditor can extend this period to twelve months by serving a notice of extension on the garnishee and the debtor, then filing a certification that service was made. A bank garnishment cannot exceed twelve months total. After the maximum period expires, the garnishee is discharged and the frozen funds must be released.

What Happens After a Writ of Garnishment Is Dissolved

Dissolution resets the case to its pre-garnishment position. The statute provides that the case proceeds “as if no writ had been issued.” The garnishee is discharged from further liability under the writ and must release any frozen funds back to the account holder. The bank or employer that was holding funds is no longer obligated to withhold anything.

Dissolution does not eliminate the underlying judgment. The creditor still holds a valid judgment and can pursue other collection methods, including issuing a new writ of garnishment. A debtor who obtains dissolution based on a procedural defect should expect the creditor to correct the error and try again.

A debtor who obtains dissolution based on a successful exemption claim is in a stronger position, because the same funds remain exempt from the next writ. The debtor must still claim the exemption again, on a fresh 20-day clock, each time a new writ issues.

If the writ is dissolved because of the creditor’s procedural errors, the creditor may be liable for the garnishee’s attorney’s fees and costs under § 77.28.

Wrongful Garnishment Claims

A debtor whose exempt funds were garnished may have a separate cause of action against the creditor for wrongful garnishment. Florida common law recognizes the tort of wrongful garnishment, which requires proof that the creditor garnished without probable cause and with legal malice. The leading case is Strickland v. Commerce Loan Co., 158 So. 2d 814 (Fla. 1st DCA 1963). Florida treats the claim like malicious prosecution, so a court may infer malice from the absence of probable cause.

Under Martin v. Martin, 196 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967), a wrongful garnishment claim must be brought as a separate lawsuit rather than as a counterclaim in the creditor’s own collection case. The claim is available after the writ has been dissolved. The debtor must show that the creditor lacked probable cause to believe the garnished funds were subject to collection.

A wrongful garnishment claim is strongest when the creditor garnishes a clearly exempt account, such as an entireties account where the judgment is against only one spouse or an account holding only Social Security deposits. If the creditor knew the account was exempt and garnished it anyway, the debtor may have a viable claim for both compensatory and exemplary damages.

Practical Steps When Your Account Is Frozen

The first step when a debtor discovers a frozen bank account is to obtain copies of all garnishment documents from the court file. These documents include the creditor’s motion, the writ itself, the garnishee’s answer, and any notices served on the debtor. Reviewing them shows whether the creditor has followed all procedural requirements and whether any grounds for dissolution exist.

If the frozen funds are exempt, the debtor should file the Claim of Exemption immediately. The creditor’s short objection deadline does not begin running until the debtor hand delivers or mails the claim to the creditor. The sooner the debtor files and serves the claim, the sooner the creditor must either object or lose the garnishment.

If the debtor identifies a procedural defect, the debtor or the debtor’s attorney should file a motion to dissolve the writ under § 77.07. The motion should identify which statutory requirement the creditor failed to satisfy and cite the applicable Chapter 77 provision. The court must schedule an immediate hearing.

Contacting the creditor’s attorney directly with evidence of an exemption or procedural defect often produces the fastest result. If the evidence is clear, such as tax returns showing head of household status or account documentation showing entireties ownership, many creditor attorneys voluntarily dismiss the garnishment rather than litigate a losing position. Complaining to the bank will not dissolve the writ. The frozen funds come back through a court order, a voluntary dismissal by the creditor, the clerk’s automatic dissolution after a missed objection deadline, or the writ’s expiration under the six-month rule.