How a frozen account comes about
In New York, what people call bank account garnishment usually starts with a restraining notice served on your bank by a creditor that already holds a judgment against you. The restraint freezes funds, and a later execution delivered through a sheriff or city marshal is what moves the money to the creditor. Many people learn about the judgment only at this point, because the lawsuit ended in a default they never knew about. Tax agencies and child support enforcement have their own levy powers that follow different procedures. So the first task is identifying who froze the account and on what authority.
Money the law sets aside
Not every dollar in the account can be taken. Federal rules require banks to protect a portion of certain directly deposited federal benefits, such as Social Security, and New York law protects additional categories of income along with a baseline amount in the account. The bank is supposed to send you an exemption notice and claim forms along with the restraint, and returning them on time matters because the window is short. Gather recent bank statements that show the source of each deposit, benefit award letters, pay stubs, and anything showing that funds in a joint account belong to the other holder. If you never received the forms, ask the bank for copies right away.
Release, negotiation, or a challenge
We start by obtaining the judgment and the restraining papers, then checking whether the underlying case was properly served and whether the amount is right. If the funds are exempt, the claim form process or a motion can usually address that directly. If the judgment was entered by default, a motion to vacate it may be possible; what it requires depends on why you did not respond, including whether you were ever properly served, and in the meantime a court can sometimes pause enforcement. In other matters the practical path is a negotiated release of part of the funds in exchange for a payment plan. We also consider whether the creditor's next step may be a wage garnishment, so that any plan accounts for both.
