(1) In the case of a continuing garnishment, the writ of garnishment must be served on the garnishee in accordance with rule 4 of the Colorado rules of civil procedure.
(2) The writ of garnishment pursuant to subsection (1) of this section must include:
The name of the judgment debtor;
The last-known physical and mailing addresses of the judgment debtor or a statementthat the information is not known;
The amount of the judgment upon which the judgment creditor bases the continuinggarnishment;
Information sufficient to identify the judgment on which the continuing garnishmentis based;
A completed notice that satisfies subsection (3) of this section and that may be incorporated into and made a part of the writ of garnishment; and
A notice of Colorado rules about garnishment that satisfies subsection (4) of thissection and that is incorporated into and made a part of the notice required by subsection (2)(e) of this section.
(3) The notice required by subsection (2)(e) of this section must be in substantially the following form and conspicuously labeled:
Notice of Garnishment
Money will be taken from your pay if you fail to act.
Why am I getting this notice?
You are getting this notice because a court has ruled that you owe the judgment creditor, who is called "Creditor" in this notice, money. Creditor has started a legal process called a "garnishment". The process requires that money be taken from your pay and given to Creditor to pay what you owe. The person who pays you does not keep the money.
Creditor filled out this form. The law requires the person who pays you to give you this notice. Creditor may not be the person or company to which you originally owed money. You may request that Creditor provide the name and address of the person or company to which you originally owed money. If you want this information, you must write Creditor or Creditor's lawyer at the address at the very beginning of this form. You must do this within 14 days after receiving this notice. Creditor will send you this information at the address you give Creditor. Creditor must send you this information within 7 days after receiving your request. Knowing the name of the original creditor might help you understand why the money will be taken from your pay.
How much do I owe?
The amount the court has ruled that you currently owe is listed at the top of the writ of garnishment. The amount could go up if there are more court costs or additional interest. The interest rate on the amount you owe is listed at the top of the writ of garnishment. The amount could also go down if you make payments to Creditor.
How will the amount I owe be paid?
The person who pays you will start taking money from your paycheck on the first payday that is at least 14 days after the day the person who pays you sends you this notice. Money will continue to be taken from your pay for up to 6 months. If the debt is not paid off or not likely to be paid off by that time, Creditor may serve another garnishment.
The rules about how much of your pay can be taken are explained in the notice of Colorado rules about garnishment that you received with this notice. This notice also contains an estimate of how much of your pay will likely be withheld each paycheck.
At any time, you can get a report that shows how the amount taken from your pay was calculated. To receive this report, you must write or e-mail the person who pays you.
Do I have options?
Yes, you have several options, here are three of them:
You can talk with a lawyer: A lawyer can explain the situations to you and help youdecide what to do. The self-help desk of the court where the garnishment action is pending can provide you help with resources to find a lawyer.
You can contact Creditor: If you can work something out with Creditor, money mightnot have to be taken from your pay. The Creditor's contact information is on the first page of the writ of garnishment.
You can request a court hearing: A hearing could be helpful if there are disagreements about the garnishment, the amount the court has ruled that you owe, whether the amount of money being withheld from your paycheck is correct, or whether the amount being withheld should be reduced to help you support your family and yourself. If you disagree with the estimate of the amount of money that will be withheld from your paycheck, you must attempt to work this out with the person who pays you before going to court. You must do this within 7 days after receiving this notice. If you cannot work it out with the person who pays you, you may seek a hearing in court. If you want a court hearing, you must request one. If you think that you need more money to support your family and yourself, you may seek a court hearing without consulting the person who pays you. For help requesting a hearing, contact the self-help desk of the court where the garnishment action is pending.
What if I don't do anything?
If you don't do anything, the law requires that money be taken out of your paycheck beginning with the first payday that is at least 14 days after the day the person who pays you sends you this notice. The money will be given to Creditor. This process will continue for 6 months unless your debt is paid off before that.
How does garnishment work in Colorado?
Only a portion of your pay can be garnished. The amount that can be withheld from your pay depends on something called "disposable earnings". Your disposable earnings are what is left after deductions from your gross pay for taxes and certain health insurance costs. Your paycheck stub should tell what your disposable earnings are.
The amount of your disposable earnings that can be garnished is determined by comparing two numbers: (1) 20% of your disposable earnings and (2) the amount by which your disposable earnings exceed 40 times the minimum wage. The smaller of these two amounts will be deducted from your pay.
If you think that your earnings after garnishment are not enough to support yourself and any members of your family that you support, you can try to have the amount of your disposable earnings that are garnished further reduced. This is discussed earlier in this notice under 4. Do I have options?
Your employer cannot fire you because your earnings have been garnished. If your employer does this in violation of your legal rights, you may file a lawsuit within 91 days of your firing to recover wages you lost because you were fired. You can also seek to be reinstated to your job. If you are successful with this lawsuit, you cannot recover more than 6 weeks' wages and attorney fees.
Based on your most recent paycheck, the person who pays you estimates that $______ will be withheld from each paycheck that is subject to garnishment.
(4) The notice required by subsection (2)(f) of this section must:
(a) Have a heading stating that it explains wage garnishment in Colorado; and (b) Reasonably inform the judgment debtor of:
The limits on wage garnishment pursuant to section 13-54-104;
Exemptions from and limits on garnishment and protections pursuant to the laws ofColorado; and
An estimate, based on the judgment debtor's most recent paycheck and prepared bythe garnishee, of the amount that would likely be withheld from the judgment debtor's paychecks in the future.
(5) Not later than seven days after being served with a writ of garnishment:
(a) If one of the following grounds applies, the garnishee shall send notice to the judgment creditor stating the applicable ground:
The judgment debtor is not an employee of the garnishee; or
The writ of garnishment does not contain all information required by subsection (2) of this section.
(b) If subsection (5)(a) of this section does not apply, the garnishee shall:
(I) Send to the judgment creditor a notice that includes:
A statement that the named judgment debtor is an employee of the garnishee;
The pay frequency of the judgment debtor and the date of the first payday that is atleast twenty-one days after the garnishee was served with the writ of garnishment in accordance with subsection (1) of this section or the first payday after the expiration of any prior effective writ of garnishment that is at least twenty-one days after service of the writ on the garnishee;
If the judgment debtor's earnings are subject to deductions other than withholdingfor local, state, and federal income taxes and pursuant to the "Federal Insurance Contributions Act", 26 U.S.C. sec. 3101 et seq., as amended, the nature, number, and amounts of these deductions and the relative priority of the writ of garnishment; and
(II) Send to the judgment debtor on the same day the notice required by subsection (5)(b)(I) of this section is sent to the judgment creditor a copy of the writ of garnishment and the notices required pursuant to subsections (2)(e) and (2)(f) of this section.
(6) If subsection (5)(b)(I) of this section applies, the garnishee shall begin garnishment on the first payday that occurs at least twenty-one days after the garnishee was served with the writ of garnishment in accordance with subsection (1) of this section or the first payday after the expiration of any prior effective writ of garnishment that is at least twenty-one days after service of the writ on the garnishee.
Source: L. 84: Entire article added, p. 471, § 1, effective January 1, 1985. L. 2019: Entire section R&RE, (HB 19-1189), ch. 214, p. 2225, § 4, effective August 2.
Editor's note: Section 7(2) of chapter 214 (HB 19-1189), Session Laws of Colorado 2019, provides that the act changing this section applies to all writs of garnishment issued on or after October 1, 2020, or the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor if sent to a vote of the people, regardless of the dates of entry of the judgments upon which the writs of garnishment are based.