I get a lot of calls from clients in and around Sonoma County, California, about stopping wage garnishment. If the client is a good bankruptcy candidate, that makes it easy because filing the bankruptcy automatically stops the garnishment. It’s important for your attorney to give notice to the Sonoma County sheriff, employer and the creditor as soon as the bankruptcy is filed or money withheld by the employer may be sent to the creditor if they don’t know about it. The sheriff should release any funds it holds back to the person who filed bankruptcy, but money already sent to the creditor won’t be refunded unless there is a basis for recovering it.
File Your Wage Garnishment Exemption Forms On Time
If the client isn’t ready or able to file bankruptcy, the only option is a claim of exemption. The discussion that follows is for garnishments that are not by a tax agency or for domestic support (child or spousal). The procedure and available exemptions are much more limited for taxes and support. When the client receives notice of the garnishment, they will be served with exemption forms. However, it’s easier to fill them out here: California Courts garnishment exemption forms. The forms to fill out are “EJ-160” and “EJ-165” and there is no charge for filling them out on the website. Make sure to carefully follow the instructions on where to send the completed forms and the due date for those. If the claim of exemption isn’t timely, the exemption is waived. If the creditor disagrees with the exemption claim, it must file a timely objection and set it for hearing on the court’s calendar. The client must attend that hearing and should be prepared to answer the judge’s questions about the exemption claim. Make sure to check with the court the day before the hearing to see if a tentative ruling is issued. Many courts have a tentative ruling system that requires any party who objects to call the court and the other side by a certain time the day before. If that request isn’t made, there will be no hearing and the tentative ruling will be final. Most court’s issue the rulings on-line although some may still do it by telephone.
How Much Can a Creditor Garnish?
If the client’s income is small and the claim of exemption shows that all or nearly all of the income is needed to pay essential living expenses, the judge should limit or even prohibit any garnishment. In my experience, most judges will limit but not fully prevent garnishment unless the income is very limited. However, it really depends on the judge and the person’s budget. If the exemption claim is not made or is denied, the creditor will get no more than 25% of the net income (after taxes and other mandatory deductions) for each pay period and it will last for one year.
What Happens if Bankruptcy is Filed AFTER the Court Issues Order on Claim of Exemption?
Bankruptcy filed after the court issues an order on the claim of exemption will still stop the garnishment. Sometimes a client has to wait to file bankruptcy but gets the wage garnishment before they are ready or able to file. If that happens, the claim of exemption may limit or even prevent garnishment until the bankruptcy is filed.
Thomas Jeffrey is a Santa Rosa bankruptcy attorney who has helped clients here in Sonoma County for over 30 years. If you have a wage garnishment question that is not answered here, schedule a free initial consultation contact the Law Office of Thomas Jeffrey at (707) 543-8530 or email him directly.
