§ 488.465.Deposit Account Or Safe-Deposit Box Standing In Name of Person Other Than Defendant

Because a bank account or safe-deposit box can be jointly held or held in a name that only loosely tracks the defendant, Section 488.465 protects third-party account holders from having their funds swept up without judicial oversight. A levy under § 488.455 or § 488.460 on an account or box standing in a name other than the defendant's ordinarily requires a court order, served on the third person along with the writ and notice.

Three exceptions dispense with the court order: the account or box stands in the defendant's own name (alone or with others), in the defendant's spouse's name (with an affidavit of the marital relationship delivered at levy), or under a fictitious business name whose current statement lists only the defendant, the spouse, or both. Even without a court order, subdivision (c) delays payout: where the account is jointly held with a non-defendant, the institution does not pay the levying officer until the officer gives notice, and the officer cannot demand payment until 15 days after the third person was served with the notice of attachment.