If I pay child support am I exempt from a wage garnishment judgment?

If you're ordered by the court to pay child support, you probably know that it's an essential agreement to uphold. Failure to pay child support can very quickly result in judgments against you, garnishment of wages, and other consequences. Staying on top of your child support payments, then, is important.

There are times, though, when everyone hits a rough financial patch. If you stay up to date on your child support payments, but let other bills slip by the wayside, you might be wondering whether there's any wage garnishment exemption in place to help protect you. Say, for example, that your child support payments are current, but you were forced to let your credit card slide, and the credit card company now has a judgment against you that will result in a wage garnishment.

Unfortunately, there's no recourse here; your only possible solution is to speak to the judge who set up your child support payments, and see if it's possible to reduce the payment amount until your financial situation improves. Keep in mind that it's commendable of you to stay up to date on your child support payments, and you should continue to consider them first on the priority list – but ideally you shouldn't have to sacrifice other payments in order to make these.

You should also consider speaking with a qualified attorney who can help you understand what wage garnishment exemptions may exist and how you can work with your creditors to end a wage garnishment against you.