As one of many Floridians who are currently facing monumental credit card debt, you may have concerns about whether your creditors can garnish your wages at work until they get everything you owe them. Wage garnishment often occurs when you have unpaid credit cards, child support or student loan payments, and it can prove embarrassing and problematic.
So, how does wage garnishment work, and how much of your paycheck can you lose to it? According to Nerdwallet, creditors can typically garnish a predetermined portion of your wages if they sue you in court for unpaid debts and win. Once your creditors receive word they can move forward with garnishing your wages, you can expect the process to begin quickly, and typically within five to 30 days.
As for how much of your wages creditors can garnish for unpaid bills, it depends on the type of debt you are facing, but there are certain formulas that dictate how much you might lose when those debts are with credit card companies. Credit card companies can typically garnish either 25 percent of your paycheck or the amount by which your weekly income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage.
If, however, this figure comes out to be $217.50 or less, your creditors will be unable to garnish your wages. If the figure comes out to be more than this, you can anticipate losing a substantial percentage of your overall earnings, which can make it especially difficult to keep up with your mortgage, pay bills and otherwise support yourself and your family.
This information about how much you stand to lose in wage garnishment is educational in nature but is not a replacement for legal advice.
