Is it legal to for a creditor garnish wages in California?

Every state has regulations and statutes regarding creditor rights for those attempting to collect payment from their debtors. This means understanding the legality of wage garnishment in CA is important. Wage garnishment is typically legal in every state under certain conditions. The state of California has its own regulations and most of them have to do with the length of time that passes between the debt’s incurrence of the debt and the attempt at collection through garnishment.

• For instance, if the debt is any more than 7 years old, the creditor may be required to absolve the debtor of his obligation without seeking repayment through garnishment. 
• If the debt is less than 7 years old, the creditor is well within its rights to pursue repayment through wage garnishment, at an amount of 25% or less of the debtor’s gross income.  

If the debtor feels as though either the amount of the garnishment is not justified or that the garnishment as a whole is unjust, he or she may dispute the garnishment by filing a claim of exemption with the court that issued the wage garnishment. A claim of exemption must show that the amount of the garnishment makes it impossible for the debtor to live, or the debtor must use the claim of exemption to prove why his or her wages should be exempt from garnishment.

If you are attempting to convince the court to void a garnishment order, you'll want to hire a lawyer to help you make your case.