Are wages exempt from garnishment?

Federal law limits the amount of money that a creditor can garnish from your wages.  A lender can garnish up to 25% of your net wages or 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, whichever is less. 

If you are head of the household earning less than $500 per week, you can protect your wage from garnishment.  However, if you signed a document permitting a lender to garnish your wages, they can get around this.  It is best to consult an attorney to protect yourself from wage garnishments.  Many debtors will seek bankruptcy protection to stop wage garnishments and force a creditor to more favorable repayment terms for the borrower.  Wage garnishments are ugly.  It is best to avoid them, if possible.
 
If you have any other questions about wage garnishments or bankruptcy, please contact us.