(a) In the event any indebtedness or other property due from or in the possession of an employer is claimed by any other person, the court shall permit the claimant to appear and maintain his or her claim. A claimant not voluntarily appearing shall be served with notice in person or by certified or registered mail. If a claimant fails to appear after being served with notice in the manner directed, he or she shall be concluded by the judgment entered in the proceeding against any claim on the wages involved in that proceeding.
12-810.Adverse claims.
Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 8. Wage Deductions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceGives a third party who claims the wages or property an employer is holding a chance to intervene, be heard, and have the court decide who is entitled to it.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-810
(b) If the adverse claimant appears and, within the time the court allows, files his or her claim and serves a copy thereof upon the judgment creditor and the employer, he or she is then a party to the proceeding, and his or her claim shall be tried and determined with the other issues in the action. If the adverse claimant is entitled to all or part of the indebtedness or other property, the court shall enter judgment in accordance with the interest of the parties.
Plain-English Summary
Section 12-810 handles the situation where money or property in an employer's hands, tied up in a wage deduction case, is also claimed by someone outside the proceeding. The court must let that claimant appear and maintain the claim. If the claimant does not show up voluntarily, the court has them served with notice -- in person or by certified or registered mail. A claimant who still fails to appear after being properly notified is bound by whatever judgment is entered in the proceeding, as to any claim on the wages at issue.
If the adverse claimant does appear, files a claim within whatever time the court allows, and serves copies on the judgment creditor and the employer, that claimant becomes a party to the case. The claim is then tried and decided along with the rest of the proceeding's issues. Where the claimant turns out to be entitled to all or part of the indebtedness or property, the court enters judgment reflecting each party's actual interest, rather than letting the original creditor-debtor dispute run over a legitimate third-party claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if someone besides the judgment debtor claims a right to wages an employer is holding?
Section 12-810 requires the court to permit that claimant to appear and maintain the claim as part of the wage deduction proceeding.
How is a claimant who doesn't appear voluntarily notified?
The court has the claimant served with notice in person or by certified or registered mail.
What happens if the claimant ignores the notice and never appears?
The claimant is concluded -- bound -- by the judgment entered in the wage deduction proceeding as to any claim on the wages involved.
What must a claimant do to become a party to the wage deduction case?
Appear, file the claim within whatever time the court allows, and serve a copy of it on both the judgment creditor and the employer.
How does the court resolve a claim that turns out to be only partly valid?
It enters judgment in accordance with the actual interests of the parties, rather than an all-or-nothing outcome.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: third party claim to garnished wages illinoisadverse claim wage deduction illinoiswho gets garnished wages if disputed illinoisintervening in a wage deduction case illinois