Art. 2415.Delivery of Property Or Payment of Indebtedness to Sheriff

This article turns the garnishment proceeding into an actual recovery. Once the garnishee admits in the sworn answer, or a contradictory motion under Article 2414 establishes, that the garnishee holds property belonging to the judgment debtor or owes the debtor money, the court orders the garnishee to deliver the property to the sheriff right away, or to pay the sheriff the debt once it comes due.

That delivery or payment does more than move money around. It discharges the garnishee's obligation to the judgment debtor to the extent of what was delivered or paid, so the garnishee is not left owing the debtor and the sheriff both for the same property or debt. Article 2415 does not apply to garnishment of wages, salaries, tips reported to the employer, or commissions, which follow their own continuing wage-garnishment procedure referenced elsewhere in this chapter.

An amendment effective August 1, 2026 lets certain garnishees skip the court-order step for undisputed bank deposits. When the garnishee is a federally insured financial institution that admits in its answer to holding the debtor's deposited funds, and no notice of opposition to the garnishment has been filed, the institution may deliver the funds to the sheriff without waiting for a further court order: immediately if the funds are one thousand dollars or less, or after waiting thirty days from filing its answer if the funds exceed that amount. The added waiting period for larger sums preserves a window for the debtor to contest the garnishment before the money moves, while letting undisputed small-balance garnishments move faster.