If you owe money to an unsecured creditor, he cannot take your property; however, he can obtain a judgment against you in court for the money you owe him and ask the court to garnish your wages until the debt is paid. Credit card companies and government agencies both use garnishment to help resolve debts. In Georgia, creditors must comply with garnishment limits to ensure the debtor can still access some of his money.
Formula for Garnishment
In Georgia, the maximum amount a creditor may garnish from an employee's paycheck is the lesser of 25 percent of his earnings or 30 times the federal minimum wage. Disposable earnings are the earnings an employee receives after all applicable state and federal taxes are withheld from his paycheck. Wages withheld for child support, tax levies or bankruptcy proceedings count as disposable earnings.
Child Support
If an employee owes child support, the courts may garnish up to 50 percent of his wages. However, If an employee's withholdings for child support total more than 25 percent of his paycheck, creditors may not garnish any percentage of his wages for other purposes. For example, if 30 percent of the employee's paycheck is withheld for child support, creditors cannot garnish any amount of the employee's remaining pay.
Minimum Pay
Georgia law does not require the garnishee to earn a particular amount of money per week before his wages can be garnished. If a garnishee makes minimum wage or close to it, creditors will not get a large amount of money each pay period, but they can still garnish the employee's wages as long as they observe the rules regarding maximum percentages.
Garnishment Process
Before creditors can garnish an employee's paycheck, they must sue her in court for the amount she owes. Once the creditor receives a judgment against the debtor, it can ask the judge to order garnishment. If the judge agrees, the debtor must fill out paperwork indicating his income and assets, and the debtor's employer and bank may also be required to provide information about the garnishee. The creditor will begin receiving payment 15 days after the court receives this paperwork.
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