Bank Account Garnishment Alberta: How to Freeze a Debtor's Funds
How Bank Garnishment Differs From Wage Garnishment
When a Garnishee Summons is served on a debtor's financial institution, it attaches the bank's current obligation to the debtor. A summons for a deposit account expires 60 days after it is issued and may also attach future obligations that arise while it remains in effect. An employer summons generally remains in effect for two years.
This means timing matters. If the debtor's paycheque was deposited yesterday and the rent hasn't cleared yet, the balance will be higher than usual. If you serve the summons the day after the debtor pays their bills, you may catch very little.
The Mechanics
The process follows the same filing steps as any Garnishee Summons under Part 8 of the Civil Enforcement Act:
- You need an entered judgment, an issued Writ of Enforcement and an active PPR registration.
- File the Garnishee Summons and supporting affidavit with the Court of King's Bench clerk, naming the specific financial institution and branch.
- Serve the bank first. The summons must reach the financial institution before — or at the same time as — it reaches the debtor. If the debtor gets advance notice, they can empty the account before the freeze takes effect.
- Serve the debtor within 15 days of serving the bank.
Once served, the bank freezes the account and remits the attached funds to the Court Clerk for distribution under the Civil Enforcement Act's priority rules.
What Gets Caught — and What Doesn't
Caught: All funds in the debtor's account at the moment of service, regardless of source. Cheque, savings, term deposits that have matured — if the money is accessible, it is attached.
While the summons remains in effect: A deposit account summons may attach future obligations that arise during its 60-day term. After it expires, you need a new summons to attach later obligations.
Partially caught: Joint accounts. When the debtor shares an account with a non-debtor (typically a spouse), the garnishment attaches the debtor's presumed proportionate share, usually 50%. The non-debtor co-holder can apply to court to prove they own a larger portion of the funds.
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The Exemption Question
Unlike wage garnishment, bank account funds are generally 100% attachable regardless of their source. The statutory wage exemption formula ($800 base, 50% of the next tier, etc.) applies only to employment income garnished directly from an employer.
However, there is an exception. If the debtor can demonstrate that the bank balance consists entirely of exempt statutory benefits — such as Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Canada Pension Plan or social assistance — they can apply to court for release of those funds. The court evaluates whether the funds are traceable to exempt sources.
In practice, most bank accounts hold a mix of employment income, transfers and benefit payments. Tracing which dollars belong to which source becomes the debtor's burden, not yours.
Knowing Where the Debtor Banks
A bank garnishment is useless if you don't know where the debtor holds accounts. If the debtor hasn't voluntarily told you, Alberta provides statutory disclosure tools:
- Financial Statement (Form 13): A formal demand requiring an individual debtor to disclose their bank accounts, employer, income and assets under oath within 15 days.
- Examination in Aid of Enforcement: An oral examination under oath where you can ask the debtor directly which financial institutions they use.
If the debtor fails to respond to a Form 13 demand or refuses to answer during an examination, you can apply for a contempt order.
Multiple Accounts, Multiple Summonses
Debtors often hold accounts at more than one institution. Each bank requires its own Garnishee Summons — a summons served on one bank doesn't reach accounts at another. If the Form 13 disclosure reveals accounts at three different institutions, you need three separate summonses, each with its own filing fee.
Strategic creditors sometimes stagger their summonses or combine bank garnishment with wage garnishment — catching the current balance at the bank while also redirecting future paycheques through the employer.
After the Freeze
The bank remits the frozen funds to the Court Clerk. From there, distribution follows the standard Civil Enforcement Act rules: enforcement costs first, then statutory priority claims, then the instructing creditor's $2,000 preference, then rateable sharing among all registered creditors.
If the frozen balance is smaller than expected — or if the debtor successfully claims some funds are exempt — you may need to consider other enforcement tools to satisfy the remaining judgment balance.
The Alberta Judgment Enforcement Guide covers the complete garnishment workflow — bank and wage — including when each tool makes sense, how to combine them, and how to track partial payments against the declining balance.
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