In a previous blog post, http://www.brandonlawoffice.com/2016/06/heres-how-much-of-your-wages-can-be-garnished-to-pay-your-debts, we covered the broad limitations that federal and state laws place on wage garnishment. Wage garnishment is when a creditor sues you to have part of your income diverted directly to them to pay your debts. There are certain general limitations on how much of your income may be garnished and special limits on certain types of garnishment.
Wage garnishment for unpaid, court-ordered child support is generally limited to 60 percent of your disposable income. If you are additionally responsible for supporting a spouse or child not covered by the order, the limit is 50 percent. For support overdue by 12 weeks or more, an additional five percent may be garnished.
For federal student loans in default, the Department of Education may garnish up to 15 percent of your disposable income. But they cannot garnish more than 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50) per week.
If you are subject to more than one wage garnishment, the total garnishment permitted by law is 25 percent of your income.
One additional protection offered: Because complying with wage garnishment creates a certain burden on your employer, they may be inclined to fire you rather than comply. Federal law protects you from this if you have one wage garnishment. However, that protection does not apply if you have more than one garnishment order against you.
As you can tell, the law provides an assortment of protections against excessive garnishment, but these can be quite complicated. If you are having trouble paying your debts, you need the help of an attorney. Contact Osenton Law Office today.
O. Reginald (“Reggie”) Osenton is the Owner and President of Osenton Law Office If you need a Brandon bankruptcy lawyer, attorney, call 813.654.5777 or visit http://www.brandonlawoffice.com.
