Because pursuing wage garnishment for unpaid debt is expensive and time consuming for collections companies, they typically only use this strategy as a last resort for collection. However, if you allow a debt account to become severely delinquent -- usually, if you miss six or more payments -- a collector may use this strategy to force you to pay your debt. Massachusetts and federal law permit collectors to garnish your wages in certain circumstances.
Necessity of Judgment
Most collectors must file a lawsuit against you and receive a judgment from a Massachusetts court before executing a wage-garnishment order on your employer. However, garnishments involving child support or tax delinquencies do not require a judgment. After the collector files a lawsuit, the civil court will afford you an opportunity to contest the lawsuit; however, as long as an outstanding debt exists and the collector properly filed the lawsuit, the court will typically grant a judgment in the collector's favor.
Writ of Garnishment
After winning a lawsuit against you for your debt, the collector can file a motion with the Massachusetts court for a writ of garnishment. The garnishment order is served on your employer, which must withhold nonexempt funds from each paycheck pending further instructions, and file an answer with the court disclosing the amount of your pay that it has withheld. The court will then issue a trustee execution, which requires your employer to turn over all withheld funds for payment against your debt.
Exemptions
Massachusetts law exempts $125 per week of your pay from garnishment. However, federal law, which provides more generous exemptions, prevails over Massachusetts law regarding wage garnishments. Federal law exempts 75 percent of your post-tax earnings, which means the collector can take up to 25 percent of your income from wages. At the time of publication, if your weekly earnings are less than $217.50, all of your wages are exempt from garnishment.
Considerations
If a collector has already won a judgment against you from a Massachusetts court, you have few options for avoiding garnishment. However, you may be able to prevent garnishment if you can show that you never received notice of the lawsuit or judgement. You may also avoid garnishment if the statute of limitations on judgment collection has expired. Because Massachusetts provides a 20-year statute of limitations for judgment enforcement, successfully raising this defense is unlikely.
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