§ 63.008.Financial Institution as Garnishee

One sentence redirecting service, and it matters because banks are the usual garnishee.

Service of a writ of garnishment on a financial institution named as the garnishee in the writ is governed by Section 59.008, Finance Code.

Garnishment of a bank account is the ordinary case, which makes this the service rule that applies most often in the chapter.

The Finance Code provision centralises service, directing it to a registered address or designated officer rather than allowing it at any branch.

The reason is the freeze the writ produces. Service stops the garnishee from paying the defendant, and a rule permitting service at any of hundreds of branches would require every branch to act on a document one of them received.

Centralisation makes compliance possible. An institution knows where writs arrive, can identify the accounts, and can respond within the time allowed.

It also protects the creditor. A defined service address means a writ properly served is effective against the whole institution, without argument about which office was on notice.

"Named as the garnishee in the writ" is the condition. The section governs service on an institution against which the writ runs, rather than on a bank that merely holds documents.

The attachment chapter and the turnover statute point to the same provision, so all three routes to a bank-held asset are served the same way.