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Are There Any Limitations Within The Wage Garnishment Law?

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You may face some additional limitations, or at least potential obstacles, in a few situations. If the debtor is already subject to another garnishment, you cannot garnish wages if another creditor is already garnishing them, unless the first garnishment takes less than 25 percent of the debtor's disposable income or you have a judgment for alimony or child support.

The debtor has the right to object to your garnishment on the ground that they need the money for her own support or the support of a spouse or children. The debtor must make these objections by filing a form with the court.

You can garnish the wages of most federal employees, including someone on active military duty, but the process may prove cumbersome. You must serve the federal agency that the employee works with a form called Application For Federal Employee Commercial Garnishment. You must then mail the form to the agency's office.

Social security benefits can never be garnished. And unless your judgment is for child support or alimony, you can't garnish unemployment insurance, workers' compensation awards, relocation benefits, or disability or health insurance benefits. Garnishing payments made from a retirement plan is also very difficult. Most retirement plans contain anti-alienation provisions barring the plan administrator from paying benefits to anyone except the plan holder or beneficiary, such as a spouse.

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