Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 12 > Chapter 9 > Article 4.1 - Garnishment of Earnings

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Debt scheduling: means counseling and assistance provided to persons by a qualified debt counseling organization if:

  (a) The counseling and assistance are manifested by a written agreement. See Arizona Laws 12-1598

• Deliver: means any of the following:

  (a) To hand deliver. See Arizona Laws 12-1598

• Disposable earnings: means that amount remaining from the gross earnings for a pay period after the deductions required by state and federal law. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Earnings: means compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether these payments are called wages, salary, commission, bonus or otherwise. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Effective agreement: means an agreement under which no act of termination has occurred. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Exempt earnings: means those earnings or that portion of earnings which pursuant to state or federal law is not subject to judicial process including garnishment. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Good faith: means honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Judgment creditor: means a party who has a money judgment or an order for support of a person that is due and unpaid. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Judgment debtor: means a party against whom a money judgment or order for support of a person has been awarded. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Magistrate: means an officer having power to issue a warrant for the arrest of a person charged with a public offense and includes the chief justice and justices of the supreme court, judges of the superior court, judges of the court of appeals, justices of the peace and judges of a municipal court. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Nonexempt earnings: means those earnings or that portion of earnings which is subject to judicial process including garnishment. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Payday: means the fixed, regular day for payment of wages designated by an employer pursuant to section 23-351. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Qualified debt counseling organization: means a nonprofit corporation authorized to do business in this state for the purpose of counseling persons with respect to their financial obligations and assisting them in dealing with their creditors. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Receipt: means actually received. See Arizona Laws 12-1598
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ: means an order or precept in writing issued in the name of the state or by a court or judicial officer. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215