How to Stop Wage Garnishments Using State Laws
In general, creditors with a judgment against you can take 25% of your income, unless you owe back child support or alimony, when the state can take up to 50 percent of your disposable income. If you are in arrears, they can legally take 55 percent. And if you owe the government money: watch out. For unpaid taxes or delinquent student loans, they can take a whopping 65 percent of your disposable income. If you’ve read my general article on how to stop wage garnishments, you’ll know that once a garnishment is in place, there are very few options to stop garnishment. Some states have enacted laws to protect consumers from unfair garnishment; you might be able to stop a garnishment if you meet the requirements for that state.
Here are the state laws that allow you to fight garnishments. The best states to live in include Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas, which prohibit wage garnishment for consumer debts like credit cards. By far the worst state is California, which not only allows garnishment of your wages: it also allows for garnishment of your spouses wages to pay off your debts!
If you live in one of the following states, read the exemptions. If of these apply to you, you should immediately petition the court (that ordered the garnishment) to cease garnishment, clearly stating which reason applies to your case. If you live in any other state, only the general rules for avoiding garnishments apply (see the article on avoiding wage garnishments in general):
California Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Federal laws apply. There is an exception if the garnishment came from a California Small Claims Court judgment. To stop the garnishment, file form SC106 to request payment in installments. Make the amount as small as you can: the judge has leeway with repayments. California is a community property state: your spouse’s wages can be garnished for your debts with a court order.
Florida Wage Garnishment Exemptions
The head of household exemption protects your wages up to $500 a week as long as you did not consent to the garnishment in writing. Otherwise, the current exemption is the Florida minimum wage (currently $7.21) x 30. Debtors also have a short period of time (four years for credit card companies and five years for contracts) to collect a judgment.
Missouri Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Creditors can only garnish 10 percent of your income if you are the head of a family and a Missouri resident.
New York Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Creditors can garnish 10 percent of a your gross weekly income or 25 percent of your disposable weekly income, whichever is less. Combined garnishments cannot exceed 25 percent. You must also be notified before the garnishment takes place.
North Carolina Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Garnishments for consumer debt are prohibited. Non-consumer related garnishments (like child support) can still apply.
Oregon Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Exempt wages are 40 times the current minimum hourly wage. In other words, you can work 40 hours a week at minimum wage without being garnished.
Pennsylvania Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Garnishments for consumer debt are prohibited. Non-consumer related garnishments (like child support) can still apply. Warning: if you deposit your paycheck into a bank account, they may be able to take that money through a bank account garnishment.
South Carolina Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Garnishments for consumer debt are prohibited. Non-consumer related garnishments (like child support) can still apply.
Texas Wage Garnishment Exemptions
Garnishments for consumer debt are prohibited. Non-consumer related garnishments (like child support) can still apply.
All other states
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December 11th, 2009 at 7:15 am
[...] the laws applicable in your state. You can find information on state exemptions for garnishments in this article. This step is vital: your creditor has to follow the steps so in order to defeat them you must arm [...]