Help! My employer just told me my wages are going to be garnished. Can I stop the garnishment?

A wage garnishment is an emergency situation– no question about it.

Under California Law, the garnishing creditor can get the lesser of: 20% of your disposable earnings for the workweek or 40% of the amount your weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 times the state hourly minimum wage.

But, you can fight wage garnishments. This post explains your options and some of the steps involved.

***The information in this post does not apply to garnishments related to domestic supporting obligations, taxes, and student loans. They have their own rules.***

What caused the wage garnishment?

A debt buyer or creditor usually must sue you and get a judgment against you before it can garnish your wages.

For most people, a wage garnishment happens because a creditor is trying to collect on a judgment.

Some past due domestic support obligations, taxes, and student loans don’t need to be reduced to a judgment before they can be enforced via garnishment.

Can I stop the wage garnishment?

Yes, there are a few ways to stop wage garnishments.

1. Attempt to negotiate with the creditor. It’s possible the creditor will negotiate with you if you can offer a lump sum payment. The creditor would almost always prefer to get their money now vs. going through a long garnishment process.

2. File exemptions with the levying officer. (This is usually the Sheriff.)

3. File bankruptcy. Bankruptcy stops most wage garnishments the moment the bankruptcy is filed. We can usually file a bankruptcy within 24 hours of your first phone call to our office. Don’t delay if you have a garnishment that’s about to go into effect. Bankruptcy can stop the garnishment immediately.

How do I file exemptions to stop the wage garnishment?

You will typically need the instructions and forms below to file your exemptions. You might need to give the levying officer other documents as well; these will just get you started.

• Instructions for filing exemptions
• Claim of Exemption Form
• Financial Statement Form

Can bankruptcy stop the wage garnishment?

Yes. The bankruptcy automatic stay usually goes into effect the moment your bankruptcy case is filed.

The automatic stay is the court order for all collection activity to stop. Wage garnishments are considered collection activity.

The automatic stay applies to your debts that exist as of your bankruptcy filing date.

How long does it take to stop the wage garnishment?

We can file your bankruptcy within 24 hours of your first call to our office.

The moment your case is filed, the bankruptcy automatic stay orders parties to cease all collection activity. A wage garnishment is collection activity.

We do need to get some information from you in order to prepare your case, so call as soon as you know about the garnishment. While we handle emergency filings, it’s always better to call us as early as possible.

Can bankruptcy stop a wage garnishment if it has already started?

Yes. Even if some money has already been taken from your paycheck, a bankruptcy filing will stop the garnishment.

Can I get money back that’s already been taken from my paycheck for the wage garnishment?

Yes, under certain circumstances.

You can get back previously garnished funds if:

• The garnished paychecks were paid within 90 days of your bankruptcy filing date AND
• The total amount garnished in the 90 days prior to filing your bankruptcy was at least $600.00 AND
• You can exempt the garnished funds in your bankruptcy.

What if my garnishment just started and only $250.00 has been garnished so far?

If you want to get that $250.00 back, you will need to consider whether to “let the garnishment ride” for a few more pay cycles.

Once the total amount garnished reaches $600.00, you can get the funds back by filing bankruptcy.

VERY IMPORTANT: you would need to be able to exempt the funds, and you can only recover funds garnished in the 90 days prior to your bankruptcy filing date.

My wage garnishment started five months ago. How much can I get back?

You can get back the funds garnished during the 90 days leading up to your bankruptcy filing date.

At least $600.00 must have been garnished during the 90-day period for you to recover the funds, and you must be able to exempt the funds in your bankruptcy.

What happens to the judgment after I stop the wage garnishment?

The answer depends on how you stop the garnishment.

Filing exemptions with levying officer: If you stop the garnishment by filing exemptions, you have put out the immediate fire.

But, the judgment is still there, waiting to be collected. You could face future garnishments, bank levies, and liens until the judgment is paid.

Judgments accumulate interest at 10% per year in California.

Filing bankruptcy: if you stop the garnishment by filing bankruptcy and you successfully complete the bankruptcy, the judgment will usually be discharged in the bankruptcy (for Chapter 7.)

In Chapter 13, the amount of the judgment left over after you have made all plan payments will usually be discharged in the bankruptcy.

You won’t have to worry about future garnishments, levies, and liens.

Garnishment Lawyer Karen Ware Can Help

We help clients fight garnishments various ways, as discussed above.

We have found the overall most effective and least expensive option is usually bankruptcy.

It puts an end to the judgment nightmare and lets you sleep at night without worrying about bank levies, liens, and more wage garnishments.

It’s especially helpful if you can get back previously garnished funds. The bankruptcy might more than pay for itself.

Give us a call at (805) 284-0760 (Oxnard) or (818) 669-9019 (Thousand Oaks) for a free consultation to discuss all your options for stopping a garnishment and getting your money back.