How to stop or reduce a wage garnishment

A garnishment is not negotiable with your employer. Payroll is following a court order and cannot stop on request. Everything that changes a garnishment goes through the court that issued it or through the creditor's attorney.

The federal ceiling

For ordinary consumer judgments, federal law limits garnishment to the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. Disposable earnings means gross pay minus legally required deductions.

State law frequently protects more, and where it does, it controls. A handful of states bar wage garnishment for most consumer debts almost entirely.

Income that is generally exempt

• Social Security, SSDI, and SSI
• Veterans benefits
• Workers compensation
• Unemployment benefits
• Public assistance
• Most pension and retirement benefits
• Child support you receive

Protected income deposited into a bank account is still protected, but banks freeze accounts based on the order, not the source of deposits. Federal rules require banks to protect a look-back amount of directly deposited federal benefits, and anything beyond that requires you to file a claim.

The filings that change the number

1. Claim of exemption. File with the issuing court, list your exempt income and dependents, and attach proof. There is usually a short deadline printed on the garnishment notice — often as little as 5 to 20 days.
2. Hardship or head-of-household request. Several states protect a much larger share of wages for a head of household supporting dependents.
3. Motion to quash the garnishment. Appropriate where the underlying judgment is being challenged or the garnishment itself is procedurally defective.
4. Written request to plaintiff's counsel for a voluntary release or a payment plan in place of garnishment.
5. Motion to vacate the judgment, which if granted removes the basis for the garnishment entirely.

For a frozen bank account

Move fast. Send the bank and the creditor's attorney a written notice identifying the exempt deposits, attach two to three months of statements showing the source of the funds, and file the exemption claim with the court the same week. Ask the court for an expedited hearing and say why: rent, medication, food.

Practical notes

• Keep every notice you receive; the deadline is printed on it
• Get a payoff figure in writing before agreeing to any settlement of the judgment
• Confirm that any settlement includes satisfaction of judgment being filed with the court
• Do not change jobs to avoid garnishment; the order follows the judgment
• Do not withdraw everything and stop using the account; the judgment survives

Two tracks, running at once

Exemptions protect money now. Vacating attacks the judgment itself. They are separate filings with separate standards, and pursuing both is normal.