§ 25-1056.Garnishment in aid of execution; when issued; procedure; continuing lien; when invalid; priority; financial institution; service of process; designated location; Department of Banking and Finance; immunity.

Article 10: Attachment, Garnishment, Injunctions, Receivers, and Replevin · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 22, 2026

In one sentenceThis section lets a judgment creditor obtain a post-judgment garnishment summons against anyone believed to hold the debtor’s property or owe the debtor money, sets out how wage garnishments become a continuing lien, ranks competing garnishments and liens by priority, and adds special service rules for financial institutions and corporate employers.

Full Text of § 25-1056

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(1) In all cases when a judgment has been entered by any court of record and the judgment creditor or his or her agent or attorney has filed an affidavit setting forth the amount due on the judgment, interest, and costs in the office of the clerk

of the court where the judgment has been entered and that he or she has good reason to and does believe that any person, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, naming him, her, or it, has property of and is indebted to the judgment debtor, the clerk shall issue a summons which shall set forth the amount due on the judgment, interest, and costs as shown in the affidavit and require such person, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, as garnishee, to answer written interrogatories to be furnished by the plaintiff and to be attached to such summons respecting the matters set forth in section 25-1026. The summons shall be returnable within ten days from the date of its issuance and shall require the garnishee to answer within ten days from the date of service upon him or her. Except when wages are involved, the garnishee shall hold the property of every description and the credits of the defendant in his or her possession or under his or her control at the time of the service of the summons and interrogatories until the further order of the court. If the only property in the possession or under the control of the garnishee at the time of the service of the summons and interrogatories is credits of the defendant and the amount of such credits is not in dispute by the garnishee, then such garnishee shall only hold the credits of the defendant in his or her possession or under his or her control at the time of the service of the summons and interrogatories to the extent of the amount of the judgment, interest, and costs set forth in the summons until further order of the court. When wages are involved, the garnishee shall pay to the employee all disposable earnings exempted from garnishment by statute, and any disposable earnings remaining after such payment shall be retained by the garnishee until further order of the court. Thereafter, the service of the summons and interrogatories and all further proceedings shall be in all respects the same as is provided for in sections 25-1011 and 25-1026 to 25-1031.01 unless inconsistent with this section.

(2) If it appears from the answer of the garnishee that the judgment debtor was an employee of the garnishee, that the garnishee otherwise owed earnings to the judgment debtor when the garnishment order was served, or that earnings would be owed within sixty days thereafter and there is not a successful written objection to the order or the answer of the garnishee filed, on application by the judgment creditor, the court shall order that the nonexempt earnings, if any, withheld by the garnishee after service of the order be transferred to the court for delivery to the judgment creditor who is entitled to such earnings. Except for garnishments in support of a person, the payments may be made payable to the judgment creditor or assignee and shall be forwarded to the issuing court to record the judgment payment prior to the court delivering the payment to the judgment creditor or assignee. The court shall, upon application of the judgment creditor, further order that the garnishment is a continuing lien against the nonexempt earnings of the judgment debtor. An order of continuing lien on nonexempt earnings entered pursuant to this section shall require the garnishee to continue to withhold the nonexempt earnings of the judgment debtor for as long as the continuing lien remains in effect.

Beginning with the pay period during which the writ was served and while the continuing lien remains in effect, the garnishee shall deliver the nonexempt earnings to the court from which the garnishment was issued for each pay period or on a monthly basis if the garnishee so desires and shall deliver to the judgment debtor his or her exempt earnings for each pay period.

(3) A continuing lien ordered pursuant to this section shall be invalid and shall have no force and effect upon the occurrence of any of the following:

(a) The underlying judgment is satisfied in full or vacated or expires;

(b) The judgment debtor leaves the garnishee's employ for more than sixty days;

(d) The proceedings are stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction, including the United States Bankruptcy Court;

(e) The judgment debtor has not earned any nonexempt earnings for at least sixty days;

(f) The court orders that the garnishment be quashed; or

(g) Ninety days have expired since service of the writ. The judgment creditor may extend the lien for a second ninety-day period by filing with the court a notice of extension during the fifteen days immediately prior to the expiration of the initial lien, and the continuing lien in favor of the initial judgment creditor shall continue for a second ninety-day period.

(4)(a) To determine priority, garnishments and liens shall rank according to time of service.

(b) Garnishments, liens, and wage assignments which are not for the support of a person shall be inferior to wage assignments for the support of a person. Garnishments which are not for the support of a person and liens shall be inferior to garnishments for the support of a person.

(5) Only one order of continuing lien against earnings due the judgment debtor shall be in effect at one time. If an employee's wages are already being garnished pursuant to a continuing lien at the time of service of a garnishment upon an employer, the answer to garnishment interrogatories shall include such information along with the date of termination of such continuing lien and the title of the case from which such garnishment is issued. Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, a continuing lien obtained pursuant to this section shall have priority over any subsequent garnishment or wage assignment.

(6)(a) In any case involving service of a garnishment summons on a financial institution where deposits are received within this state, the financial institution shall (i) if its main chartered office is located in this state, designate its main chartered office for the service of summons or (ii) if its main chartered office is located in another state, designate any one of its offices or branches or its agent for service of process in this state for service of summons. The designation of a main chartered office or an office or branch or the agent for service of process under this subdivision shall be made by filing a notice of designation with the Department of Banking and Finance, shall contain the physical address of the main chartered office or the office or branch or the agent for service of process designated, and shall be effective upon placement on the department website. The department shall post the list of such designated main chartered offices and offices or branches or agents for service of process on its website for access by the public. A financial institution may modify or revoke a designation made under this subdivision by filing the modification or revocation with the department. The modification or revocation shall be effective when the department's website has been updated to reflect the modification or revocation, except that the judgment creditor may rely upon the designation that was modified or revoked during the thirty-day period following the effective date of the modification or revocation if the summons is timely served upon the financial institution. The department shall update its website to reflect a filing by a financial institution pursuant to this subdivision or a modification or revocation filed by a financial institution pursuant to this subdivision within ten business days following the filing by the financial institution. The department website shall reflect the date its online records for each financial institution have most recently been updated.

(b) If a financial institution where deposits are received has designated its main chartered office or one of its offices or branches or its agent for service of process for the service of summons, service made on the main chartered office or the office or branch or the agent for service of process so designated shall be valid and effective as to any property or credits of the defendant in the possession or control of the main chartered office of the financial institution in this state and any of the financial institution offices or branches located within this state. If service of summons is not made on the main chartered office or the office or branch or the agent for service of process designated by the financial institution, but instead is made at another office or branch of the financial institution located in Nebraska, the financial institution, in its discretion, and without violating any obligation to its customer, may elect to treat the service of summons as valid and effective as to any property or credits of the defendant in the possession or control of the main chartered office of the financial institution in this state and any of the financial institution offices or branches located within this state. In the absence of such an election, the financial institution shall file a statement with the interrogatories that the summons was not served at the financial institution's designated location for

receiving service of summons and, therefore, was not processed, and shall provide the address at which the financial institution is to receive service of summons.

(c) For purposes of this subsection, financial institution means a bank, savings bank, building and loan association, savings and loan association, or credit union whether chartered by the United States, the Department of Banking and Finance, or a foreign state agency.

(d) The notice of designation, modification, or revocation shall be made by a financial institution on forms prescribed by the Department of Banking and Finance.

(e) The Department of Banking and Finance, any employee of the department, or any person acting on behalf of the department shall be immune from civil and criminal liability for any acts or omissions which occur as a result of the requirements of this subsection.

(7)(a) For purposes of this section:

(i) Corporate entity means any corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or series limited liability company or any other corporate entity that is required by the statutes of Nebraska to have a registered agent for service of process in Nebraska; and

(ii) Corporate entity does not include any financial institution described in subsection (6) of this section.

(b) In any case involving service of a garnishment summons on a corporate entity against wages due to a judgment debtor from the corporate entity, service shall be made upon the corporate entity in accordance with section 25-509.01 or in a manner mutually agreed upon by the garnishee and judgment creditor.

(c) If service is not made upon the corporate entity's registered agent for service of process in this state, the judgment creditor shall send a copy of such summons to the location of the corporate entity's registered agent for service of process in this state unless the corporate entity has requested that no such copy be sent or no such registered agent exists. Proof of compliance with this subdivision (7)(c) is not required for a garnishment to continue.

Source

R.S.1867, Code § 244, p. 433; R.S.1913, § 7785; C.S.1922, § 8729; C.S.1929, § 20-1056; R.S.1943, § 25-1056; Laws 1953, c. 68, § 1, p. 219; Laws 1955, c. 85, § 3, p. 255; Laws 1959, c. 101, § 4, p. 423; Laws 1972, LB 1032, § 127; Laws 1974, LB 737, § 1; Laws 1980, LB 597, § 15; Laws 1988, LB 1030, § 17; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 169; Laws 1995, LB 420, § 1; Laws 1996, LB 1048, § 1; Laws 1997, LB 771, § 1; Laws 2015, LB195, § 2; Laws 2025, LB150, § 22.

Plain-English Summary

Garnishment in aid of execution is a distinct tool from the pre-judgment garnishment covered earlier in this article. Pre-judgment garnishment reaches a defendant’s property while a case is still pending, before anyone has won. Section 25-1056 applies only after a judgment has already been entered: the judgment creditor files an affidavit stating the amount due — principal, interest, and costs — and swearing a good-faith belief that a named person, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation holds the judgment debtor’s property or owes the debtor money. On that affidavit, the clerk issues a summons requiring the garnishee to answer written interrogatories within ten days. Except for wages, the garnishee must hold everything of the debtor’s in its possession until the court says otherwise; if the only asset is an undisputed credit balance, the garnishee holds only enough to cover the judgment, interest, and costs.

Wage garnishment gets its own, more detailed track. The garnishee-employer pays the debtor all wages exempt from garnishment and holds the rest pending court order. If the judgment creditor applies and no one successfully objects, the court can order the withheld wages transferred to the court for the creditor and, on request, make the garnishment a continuing lien — meaning the employer keeps withholding non-exempt wages pay period after pay period instead of the creditor having to file a new garnishment every time. That continuing lien is not permanent. It dies automatically if the judgment is paid, vacated, or expires; if the debtor leaves the job for more than sixty days; if the creditor releases it; if a bankruptcy or other court stays the case; if the debtor earns no non-exempt wages for sixty days; if the court quashes it; or ninety days after service, unless the creditor files a timely notice extending it for one more ninety-day period. Only one continuing lien can be active against a debtor’s wages at a time, and among competing garnishments, liens, and wage assignments, priority runs by order of service, with support obligations ranked ahead of ordinary debts.

The remaining subsections handle where to serve the garnishment summons. A financial institution with deposits in Nebraska can designate a single office, branch, or agent with the Department of Banking and Finance to receive garnishment summonses; service there reaches all of the institution’s property and credits held anywhere in the state, and the department posts the designation publicly so creditors can find it. Serving the wrong branch does not automatically doom the garnishment — the institution can choose to treat it as valid anyway — but if it declines to, it must say so in its interrogatory answers and supply the correct address. A separate provision covers wage garnishments against corporate employers, directing service on the corporate entity’s registered agent, or by whatever manner the garnishee and creditor agree on, with a backup notice requirement if the registered agent is not served directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is garnishment in aid of execution different from garnishment before judgment?

Garnishment in aid of execution under section 25-1056 can only start after a court has already entered judgment against the debtor. Pre-judgment garnishment, covered in earlier sections of this article, reaches a defendant’s property while the underlying case is still being litigated.

What has to happen before a judgment creditor can garnish someone believed to hold the debtor’s assets?

The creditor, or an agent or attorney, files an affidavit with the clerk stating the amount due on the judgment, interest, and costs, and a good-faith belief that the named person or entity holds the debtor’s property or owes the debtor a debt.

How long does a garnishee have to answer the interrogatories?

Ten days from the date of service of the summons and interrogatories.

What is a continuing lien on wages, and how does a creditor get one?

It is a court order that requires an employer-garnishee to keep withholding a debtor’s non-exempt wages pay period after pay period, instead of the creditor filing a new garnishment each time. The judgment creditor applies for it after the garnishee’s answer confirms the debtor is or will be an employee owed earnings.

When does a continuing lien on wages stop working?

It becomes invalid if the judgment is satisfied, vacated, or expires; if the debtor leaves the job for more than sixty days; if the creditor releases the garnishment; if a court stays the proceedings; if the debtor earns no non-exempt wages for sixty days; if the court quashes it; or ninety days after service unless the creditor files a timely notice extending it once more.

Where should a garnishment summons be served on a bank or credit union?

At the main chartered office, or the office, branch, or agent the financial institution has designated with the Department of Banking and Finance for that purpose. The department posts designated locations publicly.

What happens if a garnishment summons is served at the wrong branch of a financial institution?

The institution may choose to treat that service as valid anyway. If it does not, it must file a statement with its interrogatories explaining that the summons was not served at the designated location and provide the correct address.

Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: post judgment garnishment nebraskagarnishment in aid of executioncontinuing lien on wages nebraskagarnish bank account after judgmentgarnishment priority nebraska25-1056 garnishment