A garnishment can create immediate financial pressure for a business, especially when a creditor freezes a company bank account. Many business owners seeking information on how to stop a garnishment in Texas want to know whether they can regain access to funds and prevent further collection activity. In many cases, businesses can challenge the garnishment, claim legal protections, or seek bankruptcy relief. Filing bankruptcy may trigger an automatic stay, a federal court protection that immediately stops most collection efforts, including many garnishments.
The bankruptcy lawyers at Tittle Santiago, PLLC, help Texas businesses respond to creditor actions, frozen bank accounts, and financial distress. Our firm helps with Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Subchapter V cases for companies throughout Texas. We help business owners understand their legal options, protect ongoing operations, and pursue strategies to stop creditor collection efforts before they disrupt the business further.
You can reach our lawyers at 972-213-2316
What Is a Writ of Garnishment in Texas?
Garnishment involves a court ordering that a portion of your business’s accounts be paid to the creditor each month, bypassing your business. A creditor typically must obtain a court ruling stating the debtor legally owes them an outstanding debt before they can garnish funds.
After receiving judgment in their favor, the creditor may ask the court for a writ of garnishment. A writ of garnishment in Texas is a court order allowing the creditor to seize money or property that a third party, such as a bank, controls on your behalf.
How to Fight a Garnishment
Texas law limits when creditors can garnish an individual’s personal wages and property. Yet creditors may garnish most funds in a business bank account, particularly those held in a business account. Your legal options to respond to a business bank account garnishment in Texas often depend on the type of property the creditor is trying to garnish.
Bankruptcy
Business bankruptcy may provide one of the fastest ways to stop ongoing collection efforts. When a company files for bankruptcy, the court issues an automatic stay that stops collection activity. Creditors generally must stop lawsuits, collection calls, bank garnishments, and other collection efforts once the stay takes effect.
Challenging the Garnishment in Court
A business may have grounds to challenge the garnishment order itself. Texas law requires creditors to follow strict court procedures and notice requirements before taking money through garnishment. If the creditor failed to follow those rules, the court may cancel the garnishment.
You might challenge:
- How the creditor completed the court process to get the writ,
- The creditor’s rights to take specific property, or
- Errors involving the amount the order claims you owe.
Your attorney reviews your unique situation and identifies defenses that could stop the garnishment or reduce the amount the creditor is trying to collect.
How to Stop a Garnishment in Texas
After a business decides to fight a garnishment or pursue bankruptcy protection, the legal process usually moves quickly. The exact steps you will need to take depend on the type of debt, the status of the court proceedings, and whether the creditor has already frozen bank funds.
Gather Garnishment and Bank Documents
To begin, we collect:
- The writ of garnishment,
- The underlying court order,
- Bank notices about the garnishment,
- Account records, and
- Any related court filings.
These documents help determine whether the creditor complied with Texas law, which funds the creditor targeted, and whether procedural defenses apply.
At this time, your lawyer can help you identify immediate risks to payroll, vendor payments, and business operations.
File Motions to Challenge or Limit the Garnishment
If legal grounds exist, your lawyer may file motions asking the court to:
- Cancel the garnishment,
- Release protected funds,
- Reduce the amount frozen, or
- Correct procedural errors related to the court order.
For example, a court may dissolve a garnishment if the creditor failed to provide proper notice, the creditor served the wrong party, or Texas law protects the funds involved.
Once the lawyer files these motions, the court may schedule hearings or require written responses from the creditor.
File for Bankruptcy
Depending on the circumstances, your attorney may recommend filing for bankruptcy. You file paperwork with a bankruptcy court to begin proceedings. At that time, the automatic stay kicks in, and your creditor may lose the right to enforce the writ of garnishment against you. Yet, your creditor may raise objections to your bankruptcy filing, inserting itself into the bankruptcy case.
Attend Hearings
Many parties settle without trial, but some garnishment disputes require court hearings before a judge. Your lawyer will usually prepare the filings, present arguments, and guide you through the process. At the end of the process, the court may:
- Release frozen funds,
- Stop additional garnishments, or
- Limit future collection activity.
You may also negotiate payment arrangements or restructuring plans to reduce the risk of future collection actions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Writ of Garnishment in Texas?
A writ of garnishment in Texas is a court order allowing a creditor to seize funds or property that another person or institution controls.
How Can Bankruptcy Stop Garnishment in Texas?
Bankruptcy may stop many garnishments through an automatic stay. The stay is a federal court order that immediately halts most collection activity after a bankruptcy filing.
Can a business’s bank account be garnished by a judgment creditor in Texas the same way a personal account can?
Yes. Texas law allows a judgment creditor to garnish a business’s bank account just as it would an individual’s, once the creditor has obtained a court judgment and shown the debtor lacks sufficient other non-exempt property. Unlike wages, which Texas broadly protects from garnishment for ordinary debts, business bank accounts don’t have that same protection.
Does Texas’s strong protection against wage garnishment also protect a business’s bank accounts from creditors?
No. Texas is one of only a handful of states that bars wage garnishment for most consumer debts, but that protection applies to an individual’s wages, not to a business’s operating accounts or a business owner’s personal bank account once funds have been deposited. Money sitting in a bank account is generally treated differently than wages still owed by an employer, and can be reached through garnishment.
What’s the difference between a garnishment and a bank levy in Texas?
The terms are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation, but a writ of garnishment technically directs a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds or property it holds on your behalf, while a levy more broadly refers to a creditor’s seizure of assets to satisfy a judgment. In practice, when a creditor targets a Texas bank account, it’s typically done through a writ of garnishment.
Can filing Subchapter V or Chapter 11 stop a garnishment or bank levy that’s already in progress?
Yes. Filing for bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay that immediately halts most pending garnishments and levies, giving the business breathing room while the case proceeds. This is one of the key advantages bankruptcy offers over out-of-court negotiation alone, since a court order binds the creditor even if they aren’t willing to cooperate voluntarily.
Discuss Your Options with Tittle Santiago, PLLC
A garnishment can place immediate pressure on a business, especially when creditors freeze accounts and interfere with payroll, vendor obligations, or daily operations. Tittle Santiago, PLLC, represents businesses throughout Texas in restructuring and insolvency matters, including Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Subchapter V cases. We help companies respond to writs of garnishment, address creditor pressure, and pursue strategies that may help businesses continue operating.
Contact us today to discuss your options.
Legal References Used to Inform This Page
To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal resources during the content development process:
Texas Property Code § 42.0021.
