Judgment Recovery: How To Garnish Wages.

 

If your judgment debtor is a wage earner, most states allow wage garnishments as a remedy to satisfy your judgment. Typically you are allowed to attach up to 25% of the debtor’s wages. In most cases you'll find it easier to locate a debtor's place of employment as opposed to finding their bank accounts or other monetary assets.

The following criteria must be met in order to garnish a judgment debtor's wages:

• The debtor must receive a regular wage and not be self employed.
  
  
• The debtor's wage must be above poverty level.
  
  
• No other wage garnishments may be in effect, unless you are garnishing the debtor for child or alimony support.
  
  
• The debtor does not file for bankruptcy, claim hardship, or terminate his employment.
  
  

The execution of a wage garnishment is similar to a bank levy. The levying officer serves the debtor's employer with a writ of garnishment. The employer then begins withholding 25% of the debtor's wages and forwards the money to the court. The court then sends you a check in the mail.

 

All the best,


Lance Shapiro

Legal Revenue Service