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How Can I Collect A Debt With A Wage Garnishment?

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If your debtor has a job, you may be able to collect cup to 25 percent of their wages per pay period. If you have won a court judgment against someone with a decent job, you may be able to intercept up to 25 percent of his or her wages to satisfy your judgment. This process, permitted in nearly every state, is called wage garnishment.

You can garnish wages relatively quickly and cheaply if the debtor receives a regular wage and they are not self-employed. The debtor's pay must be above the poverty line and no other wage garnishments can already be in effect, unless your wage garnishment is for child support or alimony. If the debtor does not quit their job, contest the garnishment or file for bankruptcy you may be able to collect on your debt.

The threat of a wage garnishment is often a strong incentive for a debtor to make arrangements to pay off a judgment because many people want to avoid the embarrassment and inconvenience of having their salary reduced. Even though a federal law bars an employer from firing an employee whose wages are garnished due to a single judgment, most employees believe that a garnishment won't win them any special points with their bosses. The law does not bar an employer from firing an employee for multiple wage garnishments from different judgments.

You should remember that a wage garnishment could produce the opposite effect of what you want, pushing a debtor to quite their job or file for bankruptcy. If you choose to garnish wages you may be walking a fine line between making great progress on collecting your judgment and closing off the possibility of collecting your money.

A wage garnishment requires little effort on your part. You give the sheriff or other local official, called the levying officer, information about where the judgment debtor works. The levying officer collects money from the employer and gives it to you. You can end the wage garnishment if you and the judgment debtor make an agreement about payment of the judgment.

Under federal law, you cannot garnish more than 25 percent of the debtor's disposable income. There is an additional protection for low-income people. A wage earner must be left with a weekly wage equal to 30 times the current federal minimum wage.

If the judgment is for child support or alimony, you can garnish up to 50 percent of the debtor's take-home pay and 55 percent if the debtor is more than 12 weeks in arrears. If the debtor does not currently support a spouse or child, you can garnish up to 60 percent of their wages and 65 percent if the debtor is more than 12 weeks in arrears. There is no automatic protection for low-income workers from child-support judgments.

Some states have eve lower wage garnishment limits. If a state wage garnishment law results in a smaller garnishment, the state law must be followed.

Next Page: Are There Any Limitations Within The Wage Garnishment Law?

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