How can this happen?
Unless you are being garnished for unpaid taxes, child support, or student loans, there must be a judgment against you before you are garnished. If you didn't know there is a judgment against you, chances are you probably were not served properly. If service wasn't proper, you can get the judgment vacated. Call a consumer lawyer in your area to help you get your judgment vacated.
What can they take?
A judgment creditor can garnish your wages and bank accounts. However, unless your garnishment is for unpaid taxes, child support, or student loans, certain Federal benefits are exempt from garnishment:
- Social Security Benefits
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits
- Veterans’ Benefits
- Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
- Military Annuities and Survivors’ Benefits
- Student Assistance
- Railroad Retirement Benefits
- Merchant Seamen Wages
- Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Death and Disability Benefits
- Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits
- Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S.
- Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance.
If the creditor has garnished exempt funds, you can demand a return of those funds and any garnishment fees.
How much can they take?
Unless your garnishment is for unpaid taxes, child support, or student loans, creditors can only take a limited portion of your wages. Depending on how often you are paid, different limits apply.
However, creditors cannot take more than 25% of your net income.
If you feel that you have been improperly garnished, call a consumer lawyer in your area to help you get your money back.
If you feel that you have been improperly garnished, call a consumer lawyer in your area to help you get your money back.
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