Common Reasons For Wage Garnishment
Posted on: 4 December 2020
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When your wages are garnished, a certain percentage of your wages are withheld and given to the appropriate creditor. If you discover that your wages are being garnished, there are several reasons why this might be the case. You may also be able to bring a halt to the process with the help of an experienced lawyer.
Child Support
If you owe money to your ex-spouse for child support, the courts will often go to great lengths to make sure you make your payments. While there are normally limits on what percentage of your wages can be garnished, these limits often don't apply when your wages are being garnished to pay for child support.
Unpaid Debts
If you owe a debt, the creditor will not necessarily be able to garnish your wages right away. First, the debtor will need to have a court judgment. It's common for a debtor to not show up to court leading to a default judgment. Therefore, you'll always want to respond to a summons so that you can at least delay the garnishing of your wages. The court might issue a wage garnishment order if you do not pay your debts.
If you default on your federal student loans, you may discover that the courts have agreed to garnish your wages. You will receive a letter and will have a month to respond. If you do not respond to the letter, you can have your wages garnished without a court order. If you do respond, this will at least buy you time and you may be able to fight the garnishment of your wages in court.
Unpaid Taxes
One of the most common reasons why your wages might be garnished is that you owe taxes. You may also find that the government has levied your bank account. You will receive a letter from the IRS explaining the situation and you may also be provided with alternative solutions such as entering into a payment plan. Whether or not your state and local taxes will be garnished depends on the state in which you reside.
Typically, you will only have a short window in which to reply to a request to pay taxes. If you are not able to provide a good reason for why you should not have your wages garnished, such as unpaid taxes, within a specific time frame, you'll have a harder time avoiding wage garnishment. Reach out to a wage garnishment lawyer like one at Havner Law Firm to see if you have a case.