Restructuring Wage Garnishment Amounts and Timeline

Wage garnishments occur when a creditor obtains a court order allowing him to collect on money owned by the debtor. For instance, person A sues person B for failing to pay on his debt. Person A gets a favorable ruling from court allowing him to collect on that debt. Person B has a savings account in a bank, which Person A wants to garnish so that he can get paid using the money in that account. The bank will have to freeze the account in accordance to the garnishment order. The debtor will only be told about the freezing of his account after the deed has been done to prevent him from withdrawing his money.

How to Get an Exemption

There are ways for a debtor to restructure the wage garnishment order, such that the amount and the timeline will be changed. Even if the freeze order has come out, the debtor is given time to object. The debtor will receive the Garnishment Summons Form, which contains the accounts or wages to be garnished, for what amount, and the date of the hearing. Along with the Summons is a Request for Hearing - Garnishment Exemption Form listing 22 exemptions that the debtor can apply for. The debtor can maximize the list so that he gets exemptions on accounts or wages. He can also use the hearing to request for an extension.

The Homestead Exemption

The first exemption a person can use is that of the Homestead Deed. This will depend on the state where the debtor is located. In Virginia, exemption under the Homestead Deed is $5,000. This means that up to five thousand of the savings account will be exempted from garnishment. A debtor can also get a $500 exemption for every dependent in the household.

Other Exemptions

There are garnishment exemptions that can change the garnishment amount and the timeline. One of them is if the account's funds are from Social Security. A Social Security benefit cannot be garnished.

Getting Legal Advice

Consult a lawyer on the other exemptions applicable to your case if you have received a garnishment summons. A lawyer can help you restructure your debt and pay the creditor in a manner that will not strain your finances some more. The lawyer can even advice you if filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is advisable. A bankruptcy can stop the garnishment order and give you time to restructure your debts.