Garnishment of Alimony

Abstract

In a day of such widespread and extensive alimony decrees, it is abnormal that there are not more authorities upon the questions raised by an attempt on the part of the wife's creditors to garnish future alimony installments. The law is indeed meagre on this subject and such cases as are available seem to be in hopeless conflict. Upon analysis, however, it may be that some guiding principles underlie the apparently paradoxical decisions. Two possible situations, in general, may be presented. First, after a decree for future installments, creditors of the wife may seek to attach the same by garnishment and thus subject the payments to the satisfaction of their claims, whether the installments be payable directly from the husband to the wife, or payable to a trustee, to be paid over to the wife at regular intervals; second, the court issuing the alimony decree, either originally or by supplementary decree, may attempt to prevent assignment or garnishment by a pro-vision against alienation until the money is actually paid over to the wife. These two situations, with the legal problems involved,will be discussed separately.