§ 488.610.Garnishee's Memorandum By Third Person

When the levying officer serves a third person to levy on property or an obligation the third person holds for the defendant, that third person cannot stay silent. Section 488.610 requires the officer to request a garnishee's memorandum, and the third person must mail or deliver it within 10 days regardless of whether the levy turns out to be effective. The memorandum must be sworn and must describe: any of the defendant's property not delivered to the officer and why; any due obligation not paid and why; any obligation not yet due; known claims of other people to the property or obligation, with their names and addresses; and, if true, a statement that the garnishee holds nothing at all for the defendant.

The officer forwards a received memorandum to the plaintiff and attaches the original to the returned writ, or notes in the return that none was received. A third person who misses the deadline or gives incomplete information can, at the court's discretion, be ordered to pay the costs and attorney's fees of any proceeding needed to pry out the required information. Two exceptions soften the burden: a financial institution that fully complies with a deposit-account or safe-deposit-box levy need not file a memorandum at all, or may limit it to the branch where the levy was served (unless service went through a central location under § 684.115); and no memorandum is needed from any third person who has already delivered all the sought property and paid everything currently due with nothing more to come.