The attachment of a credit balance on an account kept with a credit institution comprises the credit balance existing on the date on which the attachment order is served, as well as the daily balances given on the days following the attachment.
Section 834
Debtor is not heard
The debtor is not to be heard, prior to the attachment, regarding the request for attachment.
Section 835
Transfer of a monetary claim
(1) The monetary claim that has been attached is to be transferred to the creditor, at his choice, either for collection or, in lieu of payment at the nominal value.
(2) In the latter case, the claim devolves onto the creditor; this has the effect that the creditor is satisfied as concerns his claim vis-à-vis the debtor in the extent to which the claim exists.
(3) The stipulations of section 829 subsections (2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the transfer. Should a debtor be an individual and his balance with a credit institution have been attached and transferred to the creditor, payment out of the balance may be made to the creditor, or the amount may be lodged, only four (4) weeks after the court order as to the transfer has been served on the third-party debtor; where a balance has been attached that will be credited only at a future date, the court responsible for execution will additionally order, upon a corresponding petition being filed, that payment may be made to the creditor, or the amount may be lodged, only four (4) weeks after the amounts have been credited to the debtor’s account.
(4) Where a balance has been attached that will be transferred to the debtor only at a future date and credited to an account exempted from attachment in the sense as defined by section 850k (7), the third-party debtor may make payment to the creditor, or lodge the amount, only after one (1) calendar month has expired following the month in which the respective amount has been credited to the debtor’s account. The court responsible for execution may issue an order in derogation herefrom, upon a corresponding petition having been filed by the creditor, should the provision made in the first sentence result in the creditor being subjected to a hardship that said creditor cannot reasonably be expected to bear, even if the debtor’s interest in protection is fully taken into account.
(5) Where remuneration for work performed or services provided personally by the debtor, who is an individual, which is payable to same on a non-recurrent basis, is transferred to the creditor, or where other income that is not earned income is so transferred to the creditor, the third-party debtor may make payment to the creditor, or lodge the amount, only four (4) weeks following service of the court order as to transfer.
Section 836
Effect of the transfer
(1) The transfer takes the stead of formal declarations made by the debtor on which the entitlement to collect the claim depends pursuant to the stipulations of civil law.
(2) The court order as to the transfer shall be deemed to be legally valid, even if it has been issued wrongly, to the benefit of the third-party debtor vis-à-vis the debtor until it is repealed and the third-party debtor becomes aware of this fact.
(3) The debtor is under obligation to provide the creditor with the information the latter requires in order to assert his claim, and to surrender to the creditor the records or documents available with the debtor concerning the claim. Should the debtor fail to provide such information, he shall be under obligation, upon the creditor filing a corresponding petition, to make the corresponding declarations for the record and to give an assurance regarding his statements by a statement made in lieu of an oath. The court-appointed enforcement officer competent pursuant to section 802e shall summon the debtor to take the latter’s information and to administer the statutory declaration in lieu of an oath. The stipulations of section 802f (4), of sections 802g through 802i, and of section 802j subsections (1) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis. The creditor may obtain the surrender of the records or documents by way of compulsory enforcement.
Section 837
Transfer of a mortgage claim
(1) The physical delivery of the court order regarding the transfer to the creditor shall be sufficient for transferring an attached claim for which a mortgage exists. In those cases in which the handover of the mortgage deed is ruled out, the transfer in lieu of payment shall require the transfer to be entered in the land register; the entry shall be made on the basis of the court order as to the transfer.
(2) These rules are not to be applied to the extent the transfer concerns claims to the performance designated in section 1159 of the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB). The same shall apply to the transfer of the principal claim in the case of a debt-securing mortgage as provided for by section 1187 of the Civil Code.
(3) In the case of a debt-securing mortgage of the type designated in section 1190 of the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB), the principal claim may be attached and transferred pursuant to the general regulations, provided that the creditor has filed a petition for the claim to be transferred without the mortgage in lieu of payment.
Section 837a
Transfer of a maritime mortgage claim
(1) Where the claim is transferred for collection, the physical delivery to the creditor of the court order as to the transfer shall be sufficient for transferring an attached claim for which a maritime mortgage exists. The transfer in lieu of payment shall require the transfer to be entered in the register of ships or in the register of ships under construction; the entry shall be made on the basis of the court order as to the transfer.
(2) These rules are not to be applied insofar as the transfer concerns claims to the performance designated in section 53 of the Act Governing Rights in Registered Ships and Ships under Construction (Gesetz über Rechte an eingetragenen Schiffen und Schiffsbauwerken) dated 15 November 1940 (Law Gazette of the Reich (Reichsgesetzblatt, RGBl.) I page 1499). The same shall apply, in the case of a maritime mortgage, if the principal claim is being transferred for a claim under a bearer debenture, under a bill of exchange or under any other instrument transferable by endorsement.
(3) Should a maritime mortgage have been limited to a maximum amount (section 75 of the Act referred to in subsection (2)), section 837 (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 838
Objection of the debtor in the case of pledged collateral
Insofar as a claim secured by pledged collateral is transferred, the debtor may refuse to surrender to the creditor the collateral subjected to the pledge until he is provided with security for the liability to which he may be subject in the event the creditor violates his obligations vis-à-vis the pledgor of the collateral.
Section 839
Transfer where the debtor is authorised to avert enforcement
If the debtor is able to avert the enforcement pursuant to section 711, first sentence, section 712 (1), first sentence, by providing a security or lodgment, the attached monetary claims shall be transferred only for collection and only with the effect of the third-party debtor having to lodge the amount owed.
Section 840
Obligation of the third-party debtor to make declarations
(1) Upon the creditor so demanding, the third-party debtor is to declare to the creditor, within two (2) weeks of the date on which the attachment order was served:
1. Whether and to what extent he acknowledges the claim as being justified and is prepared to make payment;
2. Whether any other persons are pursuing any claims, and if so, which these claims are;
3. Whether any claims have already been attached for other creditors, and if so, which these claims are
4. Whether an order as been issued in the course of the past twelve (12) months instructing that the balance credited to the account of which the credit balance has been attached is exempted from attachment in accordance with section 850l, and
5. Whether or not the account of which the balance has been attached is an account exempted from attachment in the sense as defined by section 850k (7).
(2) The record of service must include the notice that such declarations are to be made. The third-party debtor shall be liable to the creditor for any damage arising from the failure to fulfil his obligations.
(3) The declarations by the third-party debtor may be made to the court-appointed enforcement officer at the time the attachment order is served or within the period determined in the first subsection. In the former case, they are to be included in the record of service and are to be signed by the third-party debtor.
Section 841
Obligation to give third-party notice
A creditor pursuing his claim before the courts is under obligation to give third-party notice to the debtor in the court proceedings unless this requires service abroad or service by publication.
Section 842
Compensation of damages for delayed recovery of claims
The creditor delaying the recovery of a claim that has been transferred to him for collection shall be liable to the debtor for any damage arising therefrom.
Section 843
Waiver by the creditor having a right of lien
The creditor may waive the rights acquired by the attachment and transfer for collection notwithstanding his claim. The waiver is effected by a corresponding declaration, which is to be served on the debtor. The declaration is to be served on the third-party debtor as well.
Section 844
Other form of realisation
(1) Should the attached claim be subject to conditions, or should it have a fixed maturity date, or should its collection entail difficulties because it depends on counter-performance being made, or should it entail other difficulties, the court may, upon a corresponding petition having been filed, direct another form of realisation to be implemented instead of a transfer.
(2) The opponent is to be heard prior to the court order being issued by which the petition is complied with, unless service abroad or service by publication is required.
Section 845
Notice of imminent attachment of a debt
(1) Based on an enforceable deed of title, the creditor may have a notice served on the third-party debtor and the debtor, even prior to the attachment, that the attachment is imminent, which is to include the notice to the third-party debtor that he is to not make payment to the debtor, and the notice to the debtor to forgo any disposition over the claim, in particular its collection. The court-appointed enforcement officer is to himself prepare the notification with the said notices if he has been expressly instructed to do so by the creditor. In cases in which a debtor is located abroad, the order shall not be served and instead shall be mailed.
(2) The notification to the third-party debtor has the effect of a seizure (section 930), provided the claim is attached within one (1) month. The period shall commence on the day on which the notification is served.
Section 846
Compulsory enforcement against claims to surrender
Compulsory enforcement against claims that concern the surrender or the transfer of ownership of physical objects shall be performed in accordance with sections 829 to 845, taking account of the provisions made hereinbelow.
Section 847
Claim to surrender of a movable object
(1) In attaching a claim concerning a movable physical object, an order shall direct that the object is to be surrendered to a court-appointed enforcement officer charged with this task by the creditor.
(2) The rules regarding the realisation of attached objects are to be applied to the realisation of the object.
Section 847a
Claim to surrender of a ship
(1) In attaching a claim concerning a registered ship, it is to be ordered that the ship be surrendered to a fiduciary, who is to be appointed by the court responsible for execution.
(2) Should the claim be directed at obtaining the transfer of ownership, the fiduciary shall represent the debtor in transferring ownership. Upon the ownership devolving to the debtor, the creditor shall obtain a maritime mortgage for his claim. The fiduciary is to approve the entry of the maritime mortgage in the register of ships.
(3) Compulsory enforcement against the ship shall be effected in accordance with the rules applying to compulsory enforcement against immovable property.
(4) The above rules shall apply mutatis mutandis where the claim concerns a ship under construction that has been entered, or has the capacity to so be entered, in the register of ships under construction.
Section 848
Claim to surrender of immovable property
(1) In attaching a claim concerning immovable property, an order is to be issued, upon the creditor filing a corresponding petition, that the property be surrendered to a sequestrator, who is to be appointed by the local court (Amtsgericht, AG) in the district of which the property is located.
(2) In cases in which the claim is directed at obtaining the transfer of ownership, conveyance shall be made to the sequestrator as the debtor’s representative. Upon the ownership devolving to the debtor, the creditor shall obtain a debt-securing mortgage for his claim. The sequestrator is to approve the entry of the debt-securing mortgage.
(3) Compulsory enforcement against the object surrendered shall be effected in accordance with the rules applying to compulsory enforcement against immovable property.
Section 849
No transfer in lieu of payment
It is inadmissible to transfer, in lieu of payment, the claims designated in section 846.
Section 850
Exemption from attachment of earned income
(1) Earned income that is payable in money may be attached only subject to the stipulations set out in sections 850a through 850i.
(2) Earned income in the sense of this rule consists of the remuneration and pensions of civil servants, wages and service pay, retirement pensions, and similar continuous earnings granted after the person concerned has temporarily or permanently left service or his work relationship, and furthermore consists of pensions paid to surviving dependents as well as of other remuneration for services of any kind that make up the debtor’s economic activities either in their entirety or to a significant degree.
(3) The following emoluments are defined as earned income to the extent they are payable in money:
a) Emoluments that an employee may claim as compensation for non-compete restrictions for the time following the date on which his relationship of service has ended;
b) Pensions granted on the basis of insurance contracts, if such insurance has been taken out in the interests of providing a pension to the insured or to his dependent next of kin.
(4) The attachment of the earned income payable in money covers all forms of remuneration to which the debtor is entitled for the performance of his work or service obligations, regardless of how such remuneration is designated or computed.
Section 850a
Emoluments exempted from attachment
The following are exempted from attachment:
1. Half of those parts of the earned income that are paid for overtime work;
2. The emoluments granted in addition to the earned income for the duration of a holiday, allowances granted on the occasion of a special event within the operation, and fidelity bonuses, provided that they remain within the scope of what is usual;
3. Expense allowances, daily allowances, and other social allowances granted for activities pursued away from the office, payments made for work material provided by the employee, danger pay, as well as dirt and hardship pay, provided that these emoluments remain within the scope of what is usual;
4. Christmas bonuses up to the amount of half the monthly earned income, the exemption being capped at 500 euros;
5. Marriage and child birth benefits, provided that the enforcement is being pursued for other claims than those arising from the marriage or the birth of the child;
6. Child-raising allowances, student allowances, and similar emoluments;
7. Death benefits and survivors’ benefits under work or service relationships;
8. Special allowances for the blind.
Section 850b
Emoluments attachable subject to conditions
(1) Furthermore, the following are exempted from attachment:
1. Pensions to be paid for an injury to limb or health;
2. Maintenance pensions based on a statutory rule, as well as the pensions to be paid because the recipient has been stripped of such a claim;
3. Continued earnings that a debtor receives from foundations or otherwise as a result of the care and generosity of a third party, or due to the provisions made for retired farmers remaining on the farm, or due to the provisions made in an agreement on removal from a house;
4. Emoluments paid by plans established for the maintenance of widows and orphans, aid and assistance plans, and health insurance funds, such emoluments being granted exclusively or to a significant part for the purpose of providing maintenance, and furthermore claims under life insurance policies that have been taken out only against the risk of the insured party’s dying, provided the amount insured is not higher than 3,579 euros.
(2) These emoluments may be attached pursuant to the rules applying to earned income where the enforcement against the debtor’s other movable assets has not achieved, or foreseeably will not achieve, the full satisfaction of the creditor, and where the attachment is equitable in light of the circumstances of the case, in particular in light of the nature of the claim to be recovered and the amount of the emoluments.
(3) Prior to delivering its decision, the court responsible for execution shall hear the parties involved.
Section 850c
Attachment-exempt threshold for earned income
(1) Earned income shall be exempted from attachment provided it does not amount to more than
930 euros 1) per month,
217.50 euros 2) per week, or
43.50 euros 3) per day,
depending on the period of time for which it is being paid. In cases in which, as a result of a statutory obligation, the debtor makes maintenance payments to a spouse, a divorced spouse, a partner under a civil union, or a former partner under a civil union, or to a relative, or where the debtor makes such payments to a parent pursuant to sections 1615l and 1615n of the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB), the amount up to which earned income shall be exempted from attachment shall increase to up to
2,060 euros 4) per month,
478.50 euros 5) per week, or
96.50 euros 6) per day,
doing so by
350 euros 7) per month,
81 euros 8) per week, or
17 euros 9) per day,
for the first person to whom such maintenance is granted, and by
195 euros 10) per month,
45 euros 11) per week, or
9 euros 12) per day
in each case for the second through fifth person.
(2) If the earned income is higher than the amount up to which such earned income is exempt from attachment pursuant to subsection (1), based on the number of persons to which the debtor is paying maintenance, the excess amount shall be partly exempted from attachment in the amount of three tenths if the debtor is not paying maintenance to any of the persons set out in subsection (1), two further tenths for the first person to whom maintenance is paid, and one further tenth for each of the second to fifth persons. That part of the earned income that is in excess of 2,851 euros 13) per month (658 euros 14) per week, 131.58 euros 15) per day) shall not be taken into account in computing the amount that is exempted from attachment.
(2a) The amounts that have been exempted from attachment pursuant to subsection (1) and subsection (2), second sentence, shall be modified in each case by 1 July of every second year, and shall so be modified for the first time as per 1 July 2003; the computation of the modification is to be based on the percentage change, as compared to the respective previous year, of the basic personal allowance granted pursuant to section 32a (1) number 1 of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz) and on the version of section 32a (1) number 1 of the Income Tax Act applicable as per 1 January of the respective year. The Federal Ministry of Justice shall publish the relevant amounts in due time in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt, BGBl.).
(3) In computing the part of the earned income that is attachable pursuant to subsection (2), the earned income is to be rounded down, where applicable after having deducted the amount that is attachable pursuant to subsection (2), second sentence, that has been set out in the table annexed to the present Code; such rounding shall be made for monthly payments to an amount divisible by 10 euros, for weekly payments to an amount divisible by 2.50 euros, and for daily payments to an amount divisible by 0.50 euros. The attachment order shall be deemed to be sufficiently clear if it makes reference to said table.
(4) Should a person to whom the debtor is paying maintenance based on statutory obligations have earnings of his own, the court responsible for execution may determine at its equitably exercised discretion, upon the creditor having filed a corresponding petition, that this person shall not be considered, either entirely or in part, in computing the part of the debtor’s earned income that is exempted from attachment; should that person be taken into account only partially, subsection (3), second sentence, shall not be applied.
Section 850d
Liability to attachment where the debtor must comply with claims to maintenance
(1) Regarding claims to maintenance to which a relative, a spouse, a divorced spouse, a partner under a civil union, or a former partner under a civil union is entitled, or a parent pursuant to sections 1615l and 1615n of the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB), the earned income and the emoluments set out in section 850a numbers 1, 2 and 4 are attachable without the limitations designated in section 850c. However, the debtor is to be left sufficient funds as he requires for his necessary maintenance and in order to fulfil his current statutory maintenance obligations to the beneficiaries taking precedence before the creditor, or to satisfy, in equal measure, the beneficiaries ranking equally with the creditor; of the emoluments set out in section 850a numbers 1, 2 and 4, he is to be left with at least half of the amount exempted from attachment pursuant to section 850a. The part of the debtor’s earned income left to him thereafter may not be higher than the amount that would have to be left to him in accordance with the stipulations of section 850c to the detriment of those creditors who are not privileged. The stipulations of the present subsection shall not apply insofar as it cannot be assumed, under the circumstances given at that time, that the debtor intentionally evaded his payment obligation where overdue performance is to be attached that fell due longer than one (1) year prior to the petition having been filed for issuance of the attachment order.
(2) Where there are several beneficiaries as defined in subsection (1), they are to be considered in the order of their claims pursuant to section 1609 of the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) and pursuant to section 16 of the Act on Civil Unions (Lebenspartnerschaftsgesetz), in which context several beneficiaries with similar entitlements shall have equal rank amongst each other.
(3) In the case of the enforcement of claims designated in subsection (1), as well as in the case of pensions to be paid on the occasion of injuries to limb or health, the income that will be earned in future may be attached and transferred together with the attachment of due claims in order to satisfy the claims becoming due at a future date.
Section 850e
Computation of attachable earned income
In computing attachable earned income, the following shall apply:
1. The emoluments that are exempted from attachment pursuant to section 850a shall not be included in the computation, nor shall amounts be included that are to be remitted directly based on the stipulations of tax law or welfare law in order to fulfil the debtor’s obligations under law. These amounts shall be equivalent to amounts payable in the disbursement period that the debtor:
a) Pays according to the stipulations of the acts governing social insurance in order to maintain his social insurance coverage; or
b) Pays to a health insurance plan comprising a specific group of insured persons or a private health insurance company, provided that they remain within the scope of what is usual.
2. Should the debtor earn income from several sources, the court responsible for execution is to add them up in the context of the attachment, upon corresponding application being made. The basic personal allowance exempted from attachment is to be deducted first and foremost from the earned income on which the debtor’s livelihood is essentially based.
2a. Upon a corresponding application being made, the claims to current monetary benefits paid pursuant to the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch) are to be added to the earned income to the extent they are subject to attachment. To the extent the attachment is not being effected for statutory claims to maintenance, the basic personal allowance exempted from attachment is to be taken primarily from the current monetary benefits paid in accordance with the Social Code. Claims to monetary benefits for children may be added to the earned income only to the extent they may be attached pursuant to section 76 of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz) or pursuant to section 54 (5) of the First Book of the Social Code.
3. Should the debtor receive remuneration in kind in addition to the income payable in money, the cash remuneration and the remuneration in kind are to be added to each other. In such event, the amount payable in cash shall be attachable insofar as the part of the debtor’s total income that is exempted from attachment pursuant to section 850c is covered by the value of the remuneration in kind left to the debtor.
4. Where an attachment, an assignment, or any other disposition regarding one of the claims designated in section 850d collides with an attachment for any other claim, the parts of the earned income that are liable to attachment in an extended scope pursuant to section 850d are to be set off initially from the claims to maintenance. The court responsible for execution shall perform the set-off upon a party involved filing the corresponding petition. As long as no decision by the execution court has been served on the third-party debtor, he may make payments with redemptive effect based on the content of the attachment orders, assignments and other dispositions of which he is aware.
Section 850f
Modification of the amount exempted from attachment
(1) Upon corresponding application being made, the court responsible for execution may leave a part of the debtor’s attachable earned income as defined by sections 850c, 850d and 850i to the debtor if:
a) The debtor proves that, should the attachment-exempt thresholds be applied as have been set out in the appendix to this Code (under section 850c), the necessary livelihood in the sense as defined in the Third and Eleventh Chapter of the Twelfth Book of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch) or in Chapter 3 Division 2 of the Second Book of the Social Code is not covered for himself and the persons to whom he is to pay maintenance;
b) This is required by special needs of the debtor on personal or professional grounds; or if
c) This is required by the substantial scope of the debtor’s statutory obligations to pay maintenance, in particular the number of his dependents,
and if this is not contravened by overriding interests of the creditor.
(2) Should compulsory enforcement be pursued for a claim arising from intentionally committed tort, the execution court may determine, upon the creditor filing a corresponding petition, the attachable part of the earned income without taking account of the limitations provided for in section 850c; however, the debtor is to be left with sufficient funds to cover his necessary maintenance and to allow him to fulfil his current statutory obligations to pay maintenance.
(3) Where compulsory enforcement is pursued for claims other than those designated in subsection (2) and in section 850d, and in those cases in which the debtor’s earned income amounts to more than 2,815 euros 1) per month (641 euros 2) per week, 123.50 euros 3) per day), the execution court may at its sole discretion determine, upon the creditor filing a corresponding petition, the attachment of amounts above and beyond those amounts that are attachable pursuant to section 850c, and in so doing the court shall take account of the creditor’s and of the debtor’s concerns. However, the debtor is to be left at least the amount that would result for an earned income of 2,815 euros 1) per month (641 euros 2) per week, 123.50 euros 3) per day) under section 850c. The amounts according to sentences 1 and 2 shall be modified in accordance with the provision made in section 850c (2)a in each case as per 1 July of every second year, and for the first time as per 1 July 2003. The Federal Ministry of Justice shall publish the relevant amounts in due time in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt, BGBl.).
Section 850g
Modification of the prerequisites for an exemption from attachment
Should the prerequisites for assessing the part of the earned income that is exempted from attachment change, the court responsible for execution is to correspondingly modify the attachment order upon the debtor or creditor having filed a corresponding petition. A third party shall also be entitled to file such a petition if the debtor is obligated under law to pay maintenance to that party. The third-party debtor may perform in accordance with the content of the earlier attachment order, with redemptive effect, until the court order as to the modification is served on him.
Section 850h
Disguised earned income
(1) Insofar as the recipient of the work performed or services provided by the debtor has entered into obligation to perform vis-à-vis a third party, which performance represents remuneration for the debtor’s performance under the circumstances given at that time, either as a whole or in part, the claim of the third-party beneficiary may be attached in this regard, based on the enforceable deed of title against the debtor, as if the debtor was entitled to such claim. The attachment of the debtor’s claim to remuneration shall comprise, without any further requirements needing to be met, the claim of the third-party beneficiary. The attachment order is to be served on the third-party beneficiary as well as on the debtor.
(2) Should the debtor perform work for or provide services to a third party in a permanent relationship that, by their nature and scope, are usually remunerated, and so performs the work and provides the services without remuneration, or against remuneration that is disproportionately low, a reasonable remuneration shall be deemed owed in the relationship of the creditor to the recipient of the work and services. In reviewing whether or not these prerequisites are given, and in assessing the remuneration, all circumstances of the individual case are to be taken into account, in particular the nature of the work performed and services provided, the family or other relationship given between the party entitled to the performance of the services and the party obligated to perform them, and the economic capacity of the party entitled to the performance of the services.
Section 850i
Exemption from attachment of other earnings
(1) Where remuneration that is not payable on a regularly recurring basis for work performed or services provided personally by the debtor, or other earnings that are not earned income, has/have been attached, the court is to leave funds to the debtor, upon corresponding petition being made, for a reasonable period of time, in that amount that would remain for him, according to the court’s estimate at its free discretion, if the income he was earning consisted of current wages or service pay. In taking the decision, the debtor’s economic circumstances, and in particular his other options for earning his living, are to be assessed at the court’s discretion. . The court is to refuse to comply with a petition filed by the debtor insofar as it is contravened by overriding concerns of the creditor.
(2) The stipulations of section 27 of the Home Work Act (Heimarbeitsgesetz) of 14 March 1951 (published in Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt, BGBl.) I page 191) shall remain unaffected hereby.
(3) The provisions of the rules governing insurance, nursing care, and pensions as well as other statutory stipulations concerning the attachment of claims of a certain kind shall remain unaffected hereby.
Section 850k
Account exempted from attachment
(1) Where the balance credited to the debtor’s account with a credit institution, such account being exempted from attachment, is attached, the debtor may dispose of the balance up to the amount of the monthly allowance pursuant to section 850c (1), first sentence, in conjunction with section 850c (2a); in this regard, the balance is not subject to attachment. The balance in the sense of the first sentence includes any balance that may not be paid to the creditor or lodged until the expiry of the period provided for by section 835 (4). Insofar as, in the course of the respective calendar month, the debtor has not disposed of the balance in the amount that is exempt from attachment pursuant to the first sentence, this balance shall not be subject to attachment in the following calendar month, in addition to the balance exempted from attachment under the first sentence. The first to third sentences shall apply mutatis mutandis where the balance credited to a current account of the debtor has been attached, and such current account is converted to an account exempted from attachment prior to expiry of four (4) weeks following service of the court order as to transfer.
(2) In all other regards, the attachment of the credit balance shall be deemed to have been ordered subject to the proviso that the following amounts are not subject to attachment, thus increasing the allowance pursuant to subsection (1):
1. The amounts exempted from attachment pursuant to section 850c (1), second sentence, in conjunction with section 850c (2a), first sentence, where
a) The debtor is paying maintenance to one or several persons based on statutory obligations, or
b) The debtor is receiving monetary benefits pursuant to the Second or Twelfth Book of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch) for persons living with him in a household in the sense as defined by section 7 (3) of the Second Book of the Social Code or sections 19, 20, 36, first sentence, or section 43 of the Twelftth Book of the Social Code, vis-à-vis whom the debtor is not obligated to pay maintenance in accordance with statutory provisions;
2. Non recurrent monetary benefits in the sense as defined by section 54 (2) of the First Book of the Social Code and monetary benefits serving to compensate the additional expenditures resulting from a physical disability or ill health, in the sense as defined by section 54 (3) number 3 of the First Book of the Social Code;
3. Child benefits or any other monetary benefits received with regard to children, unless these are attached due to a child’s claim to maintenance payments regarding whom the benefits are being granted, or regarding whom the benefits are taken into account.
For the amounts governed by the first sentence, subsection (1), third sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) The amount that the court responsible for execution has left unattached in the attachment order shall take the stead of the amounts exempted from attachment under subsection (1) and subsection (2), first sentence, number 1 if the balance is attached due to the claims designated in section 850d.
(4) The court responsible for execution may determine an amount to be exempted from attachment, upon the corresponding petition being filed, that deviates from the amounts set out in subsection (1), subsection (2), first sentence, number 1 and subsection (3). Sections 850a, 850b, 850c, 850d (1) and (2), sections 850e, 850f, 850g and 850i as well as sections 851c and 851d of the present Code as well as section 54 subsection (2), subsection (3) numbers 1, 2 and 3, subsections (4) and (5) of the First Book of the Social Code, section 17 (1), second sentence, of the Twelfth Book of the Social Code and section 76 of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz) are to be applied mutatis mutandis. In all other regards, the execution court has the authority to deliver the orders designated in section 732 (2).
(5) The credit institution is under obligation vis-à-vis the debtor to perform under the contractual arrangements in place as concerns the credit balance that is not subject to attachment in accordance with subsections (1) and (3). This shall apply to the amounts not subject to attachment pursuant to subsection (2) only insofar as the debtor proves – by submitting a certificate of his employer, the institution making payment of the child benefits (Familienkasse), the authority making subsistence payments or any suitable person or authority in the sense of section 305 (1) number 1 of the Insolvency Statute (Insolvenzordnung, InsO) – that the credit balance is not subject to attachment. The performance by the credit institution to the debtor has redemptive effect if it is not aware, also not due to gross negligence on its part, that the certificate is incorrect. Where the debtor is unable to submit proof as stipulated by the second sentence, the court responsible for execution is to determine the amounts in accordance with subsection (2) upon the corresponding petition being filed. The first to fourth sentences also apply with a view to any lodged amounts.
(6) Where a monetary benefit pursuant to the Social Code or child benefits are credited to an account exempted from attachment, the credit institution may set off the claim arising by the credit only from those claims, or offset only those claims from such credit, for a period of fourteen (14) days from the date on which such amount was credited, to which it is entitled as remuneration for managing the account or based on dispositions over the account by the beneficiary within that period of time. Up to the amount of the credit balance remaining thereafter, the credit institution is not authorised, for a period of fourteen (14) days from the date on which said amount was credited, to refuse to implement payment instructions for lack of funds if the beneficiary proves, or if it is otherwise known to the credit institution, that the amount credited is a monetary benefit granted pursuant to the Social Code, or that it consists of child benefits. The remuneration of the credit institution for its management of the account may also be set off against amounts pursuant to subsections (1) to (4).
(7) In the agreement on which the management of a current account is based, the customer, this being an individual, or his legal representative may agree with the credit institution that the current account is to be managed as an account exempted from attachment. The customer may demand at any time that the credit institution manage his current account as an account exempted from attachment. Where the balance credited to the current account has already been attached, the debtor may demand that the current account be kept as an account exempted from attachment as per the beginning of the fourth (4th) bank working day following the date on which he made the corresponding declaration.
(8) Every person may maintain only one account exempted from attachment. In the contractual arrangements, the customer is to assure the credit institution that he is not maintaining any other account exempted from attachment. The credit institution may notify information services that it is managing an account exempted from attachment for the customer. The information services may use this information only to provide information to credit institutions making the corresponding inquiries in order to check the veracity of the assurance made in accordance with the second sentence hereof, as to whether or not the person concerned is maintaining an account exempted from attachment. Even if the data subject grants his consent, it is not admissible to collect, process, and use the data for any other purpose than that set out in the fourth sentence.
(9) Where, contrary to the stipulations of subsection (8), first sentence, a debtor maintains several current accounts as accounts exempted from attachment, the court responsible for execution will order, upon a creditor filing the corresponding petition, that only the current account the creditor has designated in the petition will remain an account exempted from attachment. The creditor is to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the court that the pre-requisites set out in the first sentence have been met by submitting the corresponding declarations by the third-party debtors. The debtor will not be heard. The decision is to be served on all third-party debtors. Upon the decision being served on those credit institutions managing current accounts that have not been determined as accounts exempted from attachment, the effects set out in subsections (1) to (6) shall cease.