Opinion ID: 1202311
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: garnishment limitation.

Text: Howser next advances that, should garnishment be proper, then the amount seized ought to be limited to his one-fourth equitable interest in the account. Traders replies that, just as Howser was entitled to use any or all the funds, so too can his judgment creditor levy any quantity to meet his debt. Most courts agree that judgment creditors can garnish the joint bank account of a debtor (although other account holders exist) but have split over the degree of vulnerability. The majority of jurisdictions rule that joint accounts may be garnished only to the extent of the debtor's equitable interest. Note, Joint Bank Account as Subject of Attachment, Garnishment, or Execution by Creditor of One of the Joint Depositors, 11 A.L.R.3d 1465, 1475 (1967 and Supp. 1987). Of these states following the majority view, California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma presume that the debtor owns the entire account such that the depositors bear the burden of proving otherwise. Other courts recognize a presumption that all the depositors possess an equal ownership but must demonstrate the actual amount owned by the debtor. Finally, a few states require the judgment creditor to show that the debtor solely owns the entire account. Id. at 1476-77. We now adopt the majority view that the debtor presumptively holds the entire joint bank account but may disprove this supposition to establish his or her actual equitable interest. In this way, the debtor, at an evidentiary hearing, may prevent the judgment creditor from seizing more than the debtor's fair share of the account. The judgment creditor, moreover, may introduce its own evidence on this issue. [4] Should the debtor fail to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she does not possess the whole joint account, however, then the judgment creditor may confiscate all the deposits therein to satisfy the garnishment. Id. at 1476; see Holton v. Laucomer, 54 Haw. 141, 504 P.2d 872 (1972). Here, Howser never submitted any evidence, that his equitable interest was only one-fourth of the funds, in the various documents filed or at the hearings on the reconsideration motions. See Transcripts of December 16, 1986 at 2-5, and March 18, 1987 at 5-7. There is nothing in the record to show how much Howser actually contributed to the account, and he has not pointed to anything which demonstrates that garnishing about 72.6% of the funds is inherently unfair. See HRS § 641-2 (1985). [5] This court is not obligated to review the entire record to verify an appellant's undocumented contentions. See International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1357 v. Hawaiian Telephone Co., 68 Haw. ___, 713 P.2d 943 (1986).