I Won A Default Judgment - Can I Garnish Debtor's Alimony Payments?

What is the name of your state? OR

I won a default judgment for a small claims case in Oregon.

The debtor and I both live in Oregon and I intend to garnish her bank account and employment wages (both the employer and the bank are based in Oregon).

A few years ago, The debtor went through a divorce in Washington and she is currently receiving alimony from her ex-husband who also currently lives in Washington.

My understanding is that -- unlike child support -- alimony is considered "income" and therefore is subject to garnishment. My question is: If I can find and serve the ex-husband with garnishment papers, will he be forced to comply as a garnishee (i.e. send to me 25% of the alimony payment each month)? In other words, is my Oregon small claims judgment "valid" in Washington?

Also, how can I go about locating him if I do not know where he lives? Since he is still paying alimony, will the court files in the county of the divorce have current address information for him? If so, are these records considered "public" -- so that I can view that information?

Any answers that you could provide would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Google is your friend.



oregon small claims garnishment

In other words, is my Oregon small claims judgment "valid" in Washington?

Click to expand...

No. You don't have to domesticate the judgment, just the writ of garnishment in the county of the debtor's ex.

So, can I serve him with the Oregon garnishment papers or will I have to get the equivalent Washington garnishment papers and fill those out in order to have him become a garnishee?

racer72 said:

No. You don't have to domesticate the judgment, just the writ of garnishment in the county of the debtor's ex.

Click to expand...

he doesnt have to domesticate the judgment from one state to the other?

VeronicaLodge said:

he doesnt have to domesticate the judgment from one state to the other?

Click to expand...

Only if the judgment debtor lives in Washington, which is not the case in this matter. The state of Washington will recognize the out of state judgment as a legal but the writ of garnishment cannot be executed in Washington. The only thing the OP needs is a valid writ of garnishment from Washington. The OP has to find the guy first though.