In short
Attachment is the taking of the debtor's goods, or of a claim that is with a third person, in a proceeding that has become final. The payment order is not an attachment on its own. A salary, a bank, a vehicle, and an immovable are not attached by the same act. The period depends on the service. The scope depends on the kind of the goods. Goods that cannot be attached, and the stopping of the sale, are under separate headings. A result is not said when there are no minutes. The detail is in the articles lifting an attachment, attachment of a vehicle, and a certificate of insolvency.
Attachment is the stage, in an enforcement proceeding, of taking the debtor's assets in order for the claim to be collected. The payment order, the objection, the proceeding becoming final, and the attachment minutes proceed in order, or in different forms according to the kind of the file. The debtor has rights relating to a complaint, an objection, and protected goods. This text is for general information. It does not contain a promise of a certain result.
What does attachment mean?
Attachment is the act of the enforcement directorate taking the debtor's money, salary, bank account, movable goods, or immovable goods, in order for the creditor to collect the claim through enforcement. Attachment does not, on its own, mean that the debt has ended. The process may continue until the file closes by a sale, a deduction, or a payment.
Within the frame of the process of collecting a claim, attachment is affected by the separation of enforcement upon a judgment and without a judgment. Which route opened onto attachment is read from the comparison of the routes of proceeding. In a file upon a judgment, the possibility of objection may be narrow. In a file without a judgment, the process of an objection to the enforcement proceeding is determinative.
Whom does it concern?
- Debtors on whom a payment order was served
- Creditors, natural or legal persons, trying to collect their claim
- Employers on whom an attachment of a salary was served
- Owners who meet an attachment of an immovable or of a vehicle
- Those who see an attachment in the capacity of surety, heir, or third person
- Parties who assessed the stage of the proceeding wrongly and missed the period
Attachment may concern not only those who carry the label "debtor", but also third persons whose assets were attached.
How does the attachment process work?
- The start of the proceeding. The creditor opens an enforcement proceeding by the route upon a judgment or without a judgment.
- Service of the payment order. The payment order is served on the debtor. The periods begin to run.
- Objection, or becoming final. In enforcement without a judgment, the proceeding continues if no objection is made, or if the objection is lifted.
- The request for attachment. The creditor requests attachment. The enforcement officer sets the day of attachment.
- The attachment minutes. The goods are determined, minutes are drawn up, and, if needed, the route of custody or of sale is opened.
- Collection or sale. A salary deduction, a bank block, a sale of movables, or the auction process of a sale of an immovable works.
- The closing of the file, or its continuation. In a partial collection, a balance may remain. In a full payment, the proceeding is discontinued.
Each step produces its own period and expense. The service address not being current, the debtor not being there on the day of attachment, or the goods being with a third person, can lengthen the process.
The payment-order stage
The payment-order stage before the attachment is critical. The date of service, the objection period, and the procedure of the objection determine the direction of the file. The approach "I will wait, it will pass", without the text of the payment order being read, is risky. If the debtor has a possibility of objection, it should be assessed within the period. If not, the options of payment or of a restructuring should be thought of early.
The day of attachment, and the minutes
On the day of attachment, the enforcement officer is at the address. The movables are determined. The debtor or the household may be present. The goods, the quantity, and the value written on the minutes form the basis for the later sale. Goods that cannot be attached being written on the minutes may be the subject of a complaint.
The debtor's rights and the areas of protection
The debtor has a right of complaint against an attachment contrary to the procedure. In attachment of a salary, the statutory limits of deduction are applied. The family home, necessary household goods, and certain personal goods can be assessed within the scope of protection. If goods belonging to a third person were attached, that person can go to the route of a complaint by proving the capacity of owner.
A claim of violence, insult, or irregularity during the attachment can bring separate legal routes onto the agenda. A calm and documented objection generally proceeds more soundly.
Attachment of a salary and of a bank
Attachment of a salary is served on the employer. The employer makes the deduction within the statutory limits. In attachment of a bank account, a block may be placed. The amount in the account is assessed in proportion to the amount of the claim. If there is more than one enforcement file at the same time, the rule of order gains importance.
Attachment of an immovable
In attachment of an immovable, an annotation is processed at the land registry. The sale stage may take a long time. Co-ownership, a mortgage, the family home, and the situation of a tenant give rise to a separate discussion. The debtor can assess the routes of payment or of objection before the sale.
Practical notes in the enforcement practice in Ankara
This article places the attachment minutes, the service, and the kind of the proceeding side by side. This article does not put the attachment in the place of the sale announcement. This article does not count a third person's goods as the debtor's goods. The office in Çankaya does not change the competent authority.
In Ankara, the enforcement offices may be busy. The appointment of the day of attachment, and the tempo of service, affect the file. The address records being current is important especially in attachment of movables, for the officer going to the correct address. If the debtor has moved outside Ankara, questions of jurisdiction and of service may come onto the agenda.
On the creditor's side, before the request for attachment, routes of obtaining information about the debtor's assets can be assessed. An empty attachment, the goods not being found, gives rise to expense. The strategy should be built according to the file.
Sale and collection after the attachment
For movable goods, a separate process works for the sale. A valuation, an auction, and a buyer being found are needed. In a sale of an immovable, the announcement, the auction date, and the offer process may be long. The creditor collects the claim from the sale price after the expenses are deducted. If there is a remainder, it is returned to the debtor. In a partial collection, the file may stay open.
In a bank attachment, if the blocked amount exceeds the amount of the claim, the surplus is released. In attachment of a salary, the deductions repeat monthly. They may continue until the debt ends or the file closes. In every kind of collection, the notification to the enforcement directorate and the order of the account should be followed.
Attachment as regards a third person and a surety
A surety can be held responsible with the attachable assets. The capacity of surety should be clear on the proceeding papers. If goods in a third person's hands were attached, the owner can go to the route of a complaint by saying "the goods belong to me". In this situation, documents such as an invoice, delivery minutes, a lease, or a title deed are presented. If the enforcement officer's minutes and the claim of ownership conflict, the enforcement court comes into play.
When does a complaint to the enforcement court come onto the agenda?
In situations such as an enforcement office without jurisdiction, the attachment of goods that cannot be attached, the value being shown excessively low or high, or irregularity of service, the route of a complaint can be opened. The periods are short. The attachment minutes and the service document should be kept. The concrete event should be told in the complaint petition. A general expression "there is an injustice" is not enough.
The creditor's strategy: the right kind of attachment
The creditor should choose the kind of attachment according to the debtor's assets. Attachment of a salary may be effective for a debtor who has a regular income. Attachment of an immovable may provide collection over a long term. In attachment of movables, if the goods cannot be found, the attachment returns empty and the expense increases. More than one kind of attachment can be tried in order in the same file. The strategy should be built according to the amount of the claim.
The debtor's strategy: a restructuring and a payment plan
The debtor can assess the routes of a payment plan, a restructuring, or an agreement directly with the creditor, before or after the attachment. The agreement should be written and notified to the enforcement directorate. An oral undertaking "I will pay in instalments" may not stop the enforcement file. Partial payments should be recorded with a receipt and the file number.
Enforcement expenses and the attorney fee
The expenses of attachment, sale, and service are entered on the file. The creditor deposits an advance. It can be taken back in the collection. The debtor may enter a discussion of the expense obligation in a claim of an unnecessary attachment. The attorney fee is a separate item. The parties should check the expense account at the end of the file.
Enforcement upon a judgment, and the speed of attachment
In enforcement upon a judgment, based on a court judgment or on a document, the debt is generally accepted as not in dispute. The possibility of objection is limited. For this reason, the passage to the attachment stage may be faster in enforcement upon a judgment. In enforcement without a judgment, attachment does not always come onto the agenda before the objection process is completed. The difference between enforcement upon a judgment and without a judgment should certainly be read before the attachment.
The attachment notice, and the third person's obligation
When a bank, an employer, or the possessor of the goods receives service of an attachment notice, that person comes under a statutory obligation. The answer and the responsibility are in the article an attachment notice. The amount written on the notice should be blocked, or the deduction should be made. If the third person does not pay the amount stated on the notice, responsibility for the attachment may arise. In attachment of a salary, the employer should set apart the protected part.
The periods of objection and of complaint after the attachment
After the attachment minutes are served, a complaint can be made to the enforcement court within short periods. If the period is missed, the attachment may be counted as valid and the sale stage may be passed to. A concrete breach of procedure should be shown in the complaint petition. For example, it can be claimed that goods that cannot be attached were attached, that the value was written wrongly, or that an irregular act was carried out at the debtor's address. A general expression "the attachment is unjust" is not enough.
The auction process of a sale of an immovable
In attachment of an immovable, the sale stage may take a long time. The announcement, the valuation, and the dates of the first and the second auction are subject to a separate procedure. The debtor can lift the attachment by paying the debt before the sale. The creditor collects the claim from the auction price. If the sale price is lower than the claim, the balance of the debt may continue. If there is a mortgage or a right of pre-emption on the immovable, the process becomes complicated.
The debtor's routes of seeking a right at the enforcement office
The debtor can learn the state of the file by a written application to the enforcement directorate, can ask for a copy of the attachment minutes, and can request a payment plan. If the enforcement officer's act is contrary to the procedure, the route of a complaint is open. The debtor can also limit, through the court, the creditor's excessive or bad-faith request for attachment. Rather than waiting passively, a regular following should be made with the file number.
Frequent mistakes
- Not following the date of service of the payment order
- Missing the objection period, or applying to the wrong authority
- Not complaining against the attachment minutes within the period
- Postponing the discussion without proving goods that belong to a third person. An ownership action is a separate procedure
- Not taking into account the protected slice in attachment of a salary
- Mixing the kind of the proceeding, upon a judgment or without a judgment
- Relying on an oral undertaking "I will pay", and not making a written payment plan
Risk of loss of a right: the enforcement periods are short and sharp. The service document and the calendar should be checked early.
Conclusion
Attachment is the collection stage of the enforcement proceeding. The payment order, the objection, the attachment minutes, and the routes of complaint should be read together. The rights of the debtor and of the creditor change according to the kind of the file. This article is for general information. The result may differ in the concrete proceeding file.
For the detailed frame you can look at the page enforcement and bankruptcy law, and for the objection at the articles an objection to the enforcement proceeding and the difference between upon a judgment and without a judgment.
An Ankara lawyer does not carry into this record an act that is not written on the attachment minutes.