What is a Wage Garnishment and How Can I Stop It?

A wage garnishment is the process by which a creditor can intercept a portion of your paycheck to pay down the outstanding debt. Ordinary creditors must first obtain a judgment against you before they can begin a wage garnishment. Taxing authorities usually do not have to obtain a judgment. This blog will address the “judgment creditor”. In a judgment situation, the garnishment paperwork is usually served on your employer by the Sheriff’s civil unit and your employer is required to send the garnished wages to the sheriff every pay period. The Sheriff, in turn, sends the money to the person holding the judgment against you.

A garnishment based on an ordinary debt is limited to 25% of your pay after taxes and mandatory deductions. A garnishment for past-due child support can be up to 60% of your pay. However, in any garnishment you must be left with at least 30 times the hourly minimum wage per week in your check. The wage garnishment can remain in place until the judgment is paid. Unless you can make a deal with the creditor or pay the debt off, there are only two methods to stop a garnishment based on a judgment. The first is to file a claim of exemption with the Sheriff. The Sheriff can provide you with the exemption form and a financial affidavit. You complete these forms to try to show that you should not be subject to a garnishment because you need your entire paycheck just to provide the necessities of life for yourself and your dependents. If the creditor objects, however, then the exemption claim is set for hearing and a judge decides if your wages should be garnished for the full amount, a partial amount or not at all. Wages will continue to be deducted from your check and held by the Sheriff until the judge renders a decision. The second way to stop a garnishment is to file for bankruptcy protection. Once you file any bankruptcy case, wage garnishments must stop. This doesn’t happen automatically, though. You must serve a notice of the bankruptcy filing on the Sheriff (and the creditor) and have the Sheriff issue a release of the garnishment to your employer. It is good practice to serve the bankruptcy notice on your employer as well. Assuming that you receive a discharge of the debt in the bankruptcy case, the garnishment can never be re-instituted. Note, however, that child support is not discharged in bankruptcy so the garnishment can resume after your case is over (or even earlier if the child support creditor obtains permission from the bankruptcy court).