Wage garnishment: The facts

Everyone loves money, and no one wants it to be taken away unexpectedly. However, this is what will happen if your wages are garnished. The most popular reason for garnishing wages is when a person owes a creditor for an unpaid debt, and refuses to make payments. The creditor sues the consumer, and receives a court ruling allowing the consumer’s employer to “garnish” a portion of their paycheck to pay for the unpaid debt balance.

Types of wage garnishments

Limited wage garnishment A limited wage garnishment is when a person’s entire paycheck is not garnished, only a certain limit can be taken from the paycheck. A limited wage garnishment is helpful because it helps to avoid any future financial problems for the person whose wages are being garnished. A limited wage garnishment does not allow the garnishment to disrupt a consumer’s ability to support themselves or their family. Court judgment garnishment With a court judgment garnishment, a person will not receive any default notices from the creditors in the mail. Instead, the judge will order the garnishment during the original court hearing, and the judge’s order will suffice as the notice. A court judgment garnishment is the most popular garnishment during child support hearing cases.

Avoiding wage garnishment

A wage garnishment is the result of a person failing to pay their debt, and ignoring the debt collector’s phone calls or past due statements. Once this happens, the debt collector takes the matter to court. However, before letting it get this far, there are many steps a person can take to stop wage garnishment. Consult an attorney
One of the best ways to avoid wage garnishment is to seek help from an attorney. A person receiving default notices should always take them serious, and if he cannot afford to pay the entire debt balance, the attorney may be able to reach a deal with the creditor.
Negotiate for a lessor amount
A debtor can always try and negotiate for the wage garnishment amount to be reduced, so the consumer can have some form of income to continue to live on. A creditor cannot garnish all of a person’s earnings. There is a limit to the amount that can be garnished. Only 25% of a person’s disposable earnings or an amount equal to 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. Get help Wage garnishment is a very serious legal situation, and if a person is faced with wage garnishment he should try to get help from a credit counseling agency.