Michigan law permits creditors to seek wage garnishments to satisfy an outstanding debt judgment. The state sets clear rules about how a creditor may obtain a garnishment and what types of income are exempt from collection. Garnishments authorized by a Michigan court are unrelated to wage garnishments issued by the U.S. Department of Education to recover defaulted student-loan debt.
Garnishment Levels
Federal law protects the first $154.50 in weekly wages from garnishment. After that, up to a total of 25 percent of the remaining income may be withheld from your paycheck. A person may have multiple garnishments effective at the same time, but the courts will not allow seizure of more than the maximum amount allowed by statute.
Exemptions
According to Michigan Legal Aid:
"Some income is exempt from garnishment both before and after it is paid to you. This includes Social Security, Supplemental Security, state welfare and Veteran's benefits. Certain types of income are exempt from garnishment before they are paid to you, including: unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, state and federal civil service retirement benefits, and military retirement benefits. State law also exempts Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's) and life insurance payable to a spouse or child of the insured."
Procedures
A creditor must have a court judgment affirming the debt, then the creditor must get the court's authorization to effect the wage garnishment. Creditors must wait 21 days after receiving the judgment to file for garnishment and pay a $15 filing fee, as of 2011. The court will issue a garnishment order that is valid for 90 days or until the debt is fully recovered. Large judgments may require multiple garnishment orders. Wage garnishments, signed by a court officer, bind an employer to withhold the specified amount and send it directly to the court for disbursement to the creditor after a holding period to allow the debtor to challenge the garnishment.
Fighting a Garnishment
If you are being garnished, you can object to the withholding of your wages by filing Form MC 49, "Objections to Garnishment and Notice of Hearing." Michigan permits only six technical reasons for objecting to a garnishment---you cannot re-litigate the original judgment through the garnishment objection process.
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