§ 703.610.Disposition of Property; Orders For Disposition; Notice of Appeal

Once an exemption is disputed, this section keeps the property in a kind of suspended state until the dispute is truly over. Subdivision (a) forbids the levying officer from releasing, selling, or otherwise disposing of the property claimed exempt until an appeal is waived, the time to appeal has run out, or the exemption is finally determined — unless a statute or court order says otherwise.

That doesn't mean the property just sits untouched the whole time. Subdivision (b) lets the court, on a motion by the creditor or a claimant, or on its own motion, issue orders for whatever disposition of the property is proper under the circumstances while the exemption proceedings remain pending — sale of a wasting asset, for instance, with the proceeds held instead. The one thing such an order can never do is force the release to the creditor of property that would be exempt without any claim at all. The court can modify or vacate that kind of order on just terms at any point while the proceedings continue, subject to the same limit.

Subdivision (c) covers what happens once an appeal is filed. The levying officer, notified of the appeal, holds, releases, or disposes of the property under the general rules for enforcing and staying money judgments pending appeal. For a personal-debt judgment where an earnings withholding order is already running against the debtor's employer, the appeal notice also has to reach that employer, who must immediately stop any further garnishment for as long as the appeal is pending, resuming only if and when the court later orders it.