Wage Garnishment in California

If you are facing a wage garnishment in California from a creditor then you need to know your options to protect your wages. There are several options available to you in California if a creditor is seeking to garnish your wages. Creditors in California can garnish up to 25% of your net wages. It is important that you take action if you know that a creditor is going to begin garnishing your wages. If you are being garnished in California you can:

1) File for Bankruptcy - If you qualify to file for bankruptcy then you can stop the wage garnishment through filing bankruptcy. Once a bankruptcy case is filed the sheriff's department will be notified of your bankruptcy filing and they will issue a release to your employer. The release allows them to stop garnishing your wages. When a bankruptcy case is filed the automatic stay is put in place which prevents creditors from continuing to collect on any outstanding debts.

2) Contact the Creditor - If you have received a wage garnishment order then contact the creditor and try to work our a repayment plan with them. Depending on the creditor they may be open to working out some type of payment plan instead of proceeding with the wage garnishment. If they are open to this and you can afford some payment plan then set up a payment plan with the creditor.

3) File a Claim of Exemption - In California and in some other states you can file a claim of exemptions where you need the money that they are garnishing for your or your families support. You may be able to stop the garnishment or reduce the amount that is being garnished if you can show this. You need to file a claim of exemptions and a financial statement to accomplish this. If the creditor objects to your claim then there will be a hearing and the judge will decide the matter.

The worst thing you can do if you are being garnished and cannot afford the garnishment is to take no action. Talk to a local attorney about what are your best options give your economic situation.