What Is Exempt From a Judgment in Georgia?

A judgment can bring your creditors one step closer to garnishing your wages or taking away some of your assets. Without protection, your creditor might have the power to clean out your bank account. However, most states offer debtors at least some protection from a creditor who has won a judgment, including Georgia.

Judgments and Collections

Judgments are a natural outgrowth of the collections process. If you become seriously delinquent on a credit account, meaning you are behind more than a few months in payments, your creditor will usually assign your account to the collections department. While the time may vary from situation to situation, eventually many creditors will file a lawsuit against you if you continue a course of nonpayment. If the court rules against you in the lawsuit, your creditor will be granted a judgment, authorizing more aggressive collections actions. If your creditor wins a judgment in Georgia, they are subject to the collections laws of that state.

Georgia Wage Garnishment Rules

The federal government allows the individual states some latitude in terms of rules regarding wage garnishment. However, Georgia opts to use federal guidelines for wage garnishment. Federal guidelines state that most creditors cannot take more than 25 percent of your weekly wages or 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less. In Georgia, any wages you have below this amount are exempt from garnishment by a creditor with a judgment, unless that creditor is the federal government.

Georgia Asset Seizure Rules

A creditor with a judgment may have the ability to attach your bank account, particularly if they are denied the opportunity to garnish your wages. However, Georgia protects from seizure certain cash payments that may be in your bank account. For example, in Georgia a creditor may not seize cash that represents any type of pension or retirement benefit, most public benefits such as veterans' benefits, and all annuity and endowment benefits. Social Security payments are also exempt from garnishment or seizure. Alimony and child support are also protected under Georgia law.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a way to stop most judgments against you in Georgia. Although you will have to deal with the long-term consequences of bankruptcy, including damage to your credit, a bankruptcy discharge usually has the power to stop any lawsuits or judgments against you. While certain creditors, such as the IRS, cannot usually be gotten rid of through bankruptcy, most other creditors can, including credit card companies.