When you owe money to a creditor in California, the creditor may obtain a judgment to garnish your wages or withdraw funds from your bank account. Some types of income, including Social Security disability insurance, are exempt from garnishment. However, creditors can intercept most other sources of income and may be able to seize your personal property.
California Law
In California, courts can grant judgments allowing creditors to remove funds from your bank account or garnish up to 25 percent of your total monthly income. Courts may also issue such orders to enforce child support or alimony. If creditors aren't able to collect payment for your debt using garnishment, they may be able to take possession of personal property.
Exemptions
California doesn't allow creditors to garnish income from retirement pensions, including individual retirement accoutns, government benefits, police benefits and firefighter benefits. Most states prohibit creditors from garnishing some public assistance benefits, but California protects nearly all benefits of this type, including welfare, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, Social Security disability, student financial aid, union benefits and relocation benefits. Some insurance payments, such as homeowners insurance proceeds and life insurance benefits, may also be exempt from garnishment in California.
Considerations
Creditors can't legally garnish your SSDI income in California. However, if the Social Security Administration is depositing your funds directly into your bank account, creditors with a judgment against you may remove the funds before you can inform the bank of the situation. If you believe that a creditor may withdraw funds from your account, you can contact your local SSA office and request that your SSDI payments be mailed to you instead of electronically deposited.
Garnishing SSDI
Though creditors typically can't garnish SSDI, there are some cases in which federal law permits the interception of these benefits. If you owe child support, alimony, federal taxes or certain debts to the federal government and other collection attempts were unsuccessful, a court may allow the garnishment of your SSDI income.
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