§ 63.003.Effect of Service

The operative effect of the writ, and it takes hold the moment service is made.

After service of a writ of garnishment, the garnishee may not deliver any effects or pay any debt to the defendant.

That is what a garnishment does. The bank stops honouring withdrawals, the customer stops paying the invoice, and the defendant’s access to the asset ends at the moment of service.

There is no notice to the defendant first. A writ that announced itself would achieve nothing, since the money would be gone before it arrived.

A corporate or joint-stock company garnishee may not permit or recognize a sale or transfer of shares or an interest alleged to be owned by the defendant.

That covers a different kind of asset. Shares are not a debt the company owes, so the general prohibition would not reach them — the company is instead forbidden to record a transfer.

"Alleged to be owned" is a deliberately low threshold. The company need not determine whether the defendant owns the shares; an allegation freezes the register.

Subsection (b) supplies the sanction: a payment, delivery, sale, or transfer made in violation is void as to the amount necessary to satisfy the plaintiff’s demand.

Voidness rather than liability is the stronger remedy. The plaintiff does not have to sue the garnishee for damages; the transaction has no effect as against the plaintiff’s claim.

The voidness is measured, not total. Only the amount needed to satisfy the demand is affected, so a payment exceeding the claim is void only to the extent of it.