Los Angeles Wage Garnishment Attorneys

What Is a Wage Garnishment in California?

A wage garnishment or wage attachment is an order from a court or a government agency that is sent to your employer. It requires your employer to withhold a certain amount of money from your paycheck and then send this money directly to your creditor.

At RHM LAW LLP, we understand that dealing with significant debt is stressful enough on its own, but when a substantial part of your paycheck is being withheld to pay back the debts, it can leave you in even more financial trouble. Does wage garnishment have you strapped for cash? If so, reach out to our dedicated team of wage garnishment lawyers to discuss all of your legal options for protecting your hard-earned income so that you can take charge of your debt once and for all. When you choose our firm to represent you, we make it our top priority to put a stop to the wage garnishment, harassing collection calls from creditors, and other debt collection actions being taken against you.

How Much Can Be Garnished from My Paycheck?

Both California and federal law places legal limits on how much of your paycheck can be garnished. The idea is that you should have enough left to pay for living expenses. While California’s wage garnishment limits are similar to federal wage garnishment laws, federal law prevails in California.

• For most debtors, creditors cannot garnish more than 25% of their wages after deductions, OR
• The amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal hourly minimum wage.

Disposable earnings are those wages left after an employer has made deductions required by law. If your wages are low, close to minimum wage, California law offers more wage protection than does federal law. This is because the federal minimum wage is lower than that in California.

A Court Order Is Required for Wage Garnishment

Most creditors cannot get a wage garnishment order until they have first obtained a court judgment stating that you owe the creditor money. For example, if you are behind on credit card payments or owe a doctor’s bill, those creditors cannot garnish your wages (unless they sue you and get a judgment).

Some Debts Are Automatically Garnished

However, different garnishment rules apply to different types of debt. Certain types of debts typically include an automatic income withholding (wage garnishment), such as:

• Child support
• Student loans
• Taxes

The above debts allow the government or creditor to garnish your wages without getting a court judgment.

We Can Help You Find Relief

If you are facing paycheck garnishment and are finding it difficult to keep up with your debts, contact us as soon as possible. We can help you stop the garnishment and create a plan to get rid of your debts, either through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Call (213) 344-0043 today to set up a 30-minute risk-free consultation so we can put our bankruptcy and debt-relief expertise to work for you.