How to Respond to a Garnishment in Florida

A debtor who receives a garnishment notice has a limited window to act. Florida law provides two primary responses: a Claim of Exemption, which asserts that the frozen funds are legally protected, and a Motion to Dissolve, which challenges whether the creditor followed proper procedure. Both carry strict deadlines, and missing them can mean losing money that would otherwise be fully protected.

The right response depends on whether the garnished funds are exempt, whether the creditor made procedural errors, or both. In many cases, the debtor should file both simultaneously.

What Documents Should the Debtor Receive?

The creditor must mail the debtor three documents once the writ of garnishment issues: a copy of the writ, a copy of the garnishment motion, and a “Notice to Defendant” explaining the debtor’s rights. The mailing deadline is five business days after issuance or three business days after service on the garnishee, whichever is later.

The Notice to Defendant is the most critical document because it contains the Claim of Exemption form. This is a court-approved form listing the major exemptions available under Florida and federal law. The debtor checks the applicable exemptions, signs the form under oath, has it notarized, and files it with the clerk of court.

A separate notice arrives later. Once the garnishee files its answer, the creditor must mail the debtor a copy and a notice that the debtor has 20 days to move to dissolve the writ. Missing either deadline—the 20-day window for the Claim of Exemption or the 20-day window for the Motion to Dissolve—limits the debtor’s options.

Filing a Claim of Exemption

A Claim of Exemption asserts that some or all of the garnished funds are protected from collection under Florida or federal law. Exempt categories include head of household wages, Social Security benefits, disability income, veterans’ benefits, retirement funds, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, and public assistance.

The debtor must file the Claim of Exemption within 20 days after receiving the Notice to Defendant. The form must be completed under oath and notarized. The debtor must also serve a copy on the creditor (or the creditor’s attorney) and the garnishee (or the garnishee’s attorney). Florida courts have treated late-filed claims as waived, which means otherwise protected funds can be turned over to the creditor because the debtor missed the deadline.

Once the Claim of Exemption is filed, the burden shifts to the creditor. The creditor must file a sworn written objection within 8 business days if the debtor hand-delivered the claim, or 14 business days if served by mail. If the creditor does not object within this window, no hearing is required—the clerk automatically dissolves the writ and the frozen funds are released.

If the creditor does file a timely objection, the clerk schedules a hearing. At the hearing, the debtor must present evidence supporting the exemption. For a head of household claim, this typically means pay stubs, tax returns, and proof that the debtor provides more than half the support for a dependent. For Social Security, the debtor must show that the garnished funds trace to Social Security deposits.

Filing a Motion to Dissolve

A Motion to Dissolve challenges the garnishment on procedural grounds rather than exemption grounds. Florida courts construe garnishment statutes strictly against the creditor, so procedural defects can dissolve the writ even when the underlying debt is valid and the funds are not exempt.

Common grounds include failure to timely mail the required notice documents, errors in the writ such as incorrect amounts, failure to pay required clerk’s fees or deposits, and defects in the underlying judgment. The debtor files the motion with the court and serves it on the creditor and the garnishee. Unlike the Claim of Exemption, the Motion to Dissolve does not use a statutory form—it is a standard motion identifying the procedural defects and requesting relief.

The 20-day window under § 77.055 applies once the debtor receives the garnishee’s answer. Courts will consider motions filed outside the 20-day window when the procedural defects are substantial, but filing within the deadline avoids any argument about timeliness.

Dissolving the writ on procedural grounds does not eliminate the debt or the judgment. It returns the frozen funds to the debtor and forces the creditor to restart the garnishment process with proper compliance.

When to File Both

A debtor whose funds are exempt and who also identifies procedural problems should file both the Claim of Exemption and a Motion to Dissolve. The two responses are not mutually exclusive, and filing both creates parallel paths to release the frozen funds.

The Claim of Exemption is usually the higher priority because it has the strict 20-day deadline and triggers automatic dissolution if the creditor fails to object. The Motion to Dissolve provides a backup argument and can succeed even if the exemption claim is contested.

If the debtor’s funds are not exempt but the creditor made procedural errors, the Motion to Dissolve may be the only available defense.

The Six-Month Automatic Dissolution Rule

A writ of garnishment does not last indefinitely. If the creditor fails to file a dismissal or a motion for final judgment within six months, the writ is automatically dissolved and the garnishee is discharged. The creditor can extend the writ for an additional six months by serving notice on the garnishee and the debtor and filing a certification with the court.

Creditors sometimes obtain a writ, freeze the account, and then delay pursuing final judgment—either because the amount frozen is small, because other collection efforts are underway, or because the creditor’s attorney simply loses track of the deadline. A debtor whose funds have been frozen for several months should check whether the six-month window has passed.

What Happens If the Debtor Does Not Respond

A debtor who receives a garnishment notice and does nothing risks losing every dollar that was frozen. The creditor will eventually file a motion for final judgment of garnishment. The court then enters a final judgment directing the garnishee to pay the frozen funds to the creditor.

At the final judgment stage, a debtor who never filed a Claim of Exemption or Motion to Dissolve has few options. Some courts will consider a late-filed exemption claim if the debtor shows good cause for the delay, but this is discretionary and unreliable.

The pattern that causes the most preventable losses is straightforward: the debtor receives the notice, sets the paperwork aside, and misses the 20-day deadline. By the time the debtor seeks legal help, funds that were entirely exempt under Florida law have been released to the creditor.

Wrongful Garnishment as a Countermeasure

Florida common law gives a debtor a separate cause of action against a creditor who garnishes exempt funds maliciously. Under Strickland v. Commerce Loan Co., a debtor can sue the creditor for wrongful garnishment if the creditor knew (or should have known) that the accounts were exempt and garnished them anyway to pressure a settlement. The wrongful garnishment claim must be brought as a new and separate action—not as a counterclaim in the garnishment proceeding.

Courts have held that lack of probable cause to garnish an account implies malice. The same facts that support a wrongful garnishment claim can also support recovery under an abuse of process theory.

As a practical first step, a debtor whose exempt accounts have been frozen should contact the creditor’s attorney, explain the exemption, and offer reasonable evidence. Most creditor’s attorneys will voluntarily release a garnishment once they see the funds are exempt. If the creditor refuses to release the writ after being shown clear evidence of exemption, that refusal strengthens a later wrongful garnishment claim.