704.220.
(a) Money in the judgment debtor’s deposit account in an amount equal to or less than two one thousand two hundred dollars ($2,000) ($1,200) is exempt without making a claim.(b) Subdivision (a) does not preclude or reduce a judgment debtor’s
right to any other exemption provided by state or federal law.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to money levied upon to satisfy any of the following:
(1) A levy to satisfy a judgment for wages owed, child support, or spousal support. For purposes of this paragraph, “wages owed” includes damages and penalties.
(2) A provision of the Public Resources Code, Revenue and Taxation Code, or Unemployment Insurance Code.
(3) A warrant or notice of levy issued by the state, or any department or agency thereof, for the collection of a liability.
(d) A levy against a judgment debtor’s deposit account shall include a written description of the requirements of this section.
(e) The exemption applies per debtor, not per account. If a judgment debtor holds an interest in multiple accounts, the judgment creditor or judgment debtor may file an ex parte application in the superior court in which the judgment was entered for a hearing to establish how and to which account the exemption should be applied. This subdivision does not create a cause of action against a judgment creditor who executes a levy pursuant to the court’s determination.
(f) Subdivision (e) of Section 700.140 applies to a financial institution acting under this section.
(g) The Judicial Council shall prepare and make available amend or adopt all forms necessary to implement this section. The forms shall clearly delineate the amount of funds exempt from levy by a financial institution, including funds exempted by this section.
(h) On April 1, 2023, and at each three-year interval ending on April 1 thereafter, the dollar amount of the exemption provided in subdivision (a) in effect immediately before that date shall be adjusted as provided in subdivision (i).
(i) The Judicial Council shall determine the amount of the adjustment based on the change in the annual California
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Statistics, for the most recent three-year period ending on the December 31 preceding the adjustment, with each adjusted amount rounded to the nearest twenty-five dollars ($25).
(j) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2019.