Wage Garnishment: What You Need To Know

October 19, 2011

When you are in debt and fail to make timely payments, creditors may take steps to collect money directly from your paycheck. Known as wage garnishment, this legal tool can take a substantial bite out of your earnings.

The Wage Garnishment Process

Before wage garnishment occurs, a court must authorize it. A creditor will ask for a court order to compel payment. If you have stopped repaying the debt, the court can issue a judgment against you.

Next, the creditor will place the judgment and an accompanying garnishment order in the hands of your local sheriff's department. The sheriff's department will deliver the papers to your employer. Once the garnishment papers have been presented, your employer has no choice but to pay the specified amount from each of your paychecks.

Legal Safeguards

The Consumer Credit Protection Act prohibits your employer from firing you because your wages have been garnished for a single debt, and it also limits garnishment to 25 percent of your discretionary income in any given pay period for most kinds of debt.

Additionally, your creditors must send you a garnishment notice detailing the authorization of the garnishment by the court, any exemptions you may have (those portions of your earnings that cannot be taken), and the procedure for challenging the garnishment.

Taking On Wage Garnishment

In most instances, you will be far better off addressing delinquent debts early in the process, before creditors have resorted to wage garnishment. Often, creditors would prefer to come to a workable repayment arrangement rather than initiate potentially costly legal action.

After a judgment has been rendered, your options become more limited. However, you may ask the court to lower the garnishment amount if the cost is causing you hardship in supporting yourself or your dependents.

Filing for bankruptcy is one way to halt wage garnishment. In addition to receiving the full amount of your paychecks, bankruptcy may allow you to completely discharge underlying debt or establish a court-approved repayment plan that works for you. Of course, there are consequences to pursuing bankruptcy that can only be fully evaluated by you and your Arizona bankruptcy attorney.

Getting Legal Help

If credit card companies or others to whom you owe money are considering wage garnishment, contact a bankruptcy attorney today. An attorney can also help you address the consequences of wage garnishment if a judgment has already come down.

Article provided by Farnsworth Law Offices
Visit us at www.azbk.com