§ 700.160.Deposit Account Or Safe-Deposit Box Standing In Name Person Other Than Debtor

Freezing an account or box that belongs, at least in name, to someone other than the judgment debtor raises real risk of reaching a stranger's property. Section 700.160 responds by generally requiring a court order authorizing the levy before an account or box in a third party's name can be reached under § 700.140 or § 700.150.

Four situations skip that court-order requirement. An account or box standing in the debtor's own name, alone or with others, needs no order. Nor does one held with the debtor's spouse or registered domestic partner, as long as an affidavit establishing that relationship is delivered to the institution at the time of levy. A fictitious business name works too, if a certified, unexpired fictitious business name statement is delivered showing only the debtor, the debtor's spouse, or the debtor's registered domestic partner as the business owner — with a supporting affidavit if someone else appears on the statement. And an alternate name of the debtor listed on the writ through an affidavit of identity under § 680.135 needs no separate order either.

Even without a court order, the institution can't pay the levying officer the amount levied on a third-party-named account until the officer says so, and the officer can't demand payment until fifteen days after the notice of levy is served on that third person — giving the third person a window to contest the levy.