The Procedural Requirements for Wage Garnishment in Indiana

Both judgment creditors and employers must follow wage garnishment procedures in Indiana. Wage garnishment allows the creditor to take part of the debtor's pay to satisfy the debt. A creditor typically must get a money judgment in court against the debtor before trying to garnish wages in Indiana.

Creditor Returns to Court

The judgment creditor must return to the Indiana court that granted the money judgment he wants to garnish, and he must file an affidavit or motion to support the garnishment. The filing has to include statements and details required under Indiana law: the debtor owes the creditor the amount requested; the creditor has notified the debtor and taken steps to determine what, if any, property he has eligible for seizure; and the debtor does not have property the creditor could seize to satisfy the judgment.

Notification

Once the creditor has filed with the court, he must notify the debtor and garnishee, and wait the number of days required by the court for the debtor and garnishee to answer. The debtor and garnishee can be different parties. For example, if the debtor on the judgment is a business, the responsible person for the business is the garnishee. After the time has passed, the creditor can move forward with the garnishment.

Notice of Garnishment

The court issues a writ of garnishment -- which includes a worksheet to calculate the garnishment amount -- to the employer of the garnishee. The employer must comply with the writ. The garnishment amount is the lower of two amounts in Indiana: 25 percent of the debtor's weekly net pay or what remains after multiplying 30 times the state hourly minimum wage, $7.25 at the time of publication. If the debtor does not take home at least 30 times the minimum wage each week, the employer can't garnish and must return the worksheet to the court showing the figures.

Considerations

Garnishment procedures for some types of debts are not the same in Indiana. Local and federal government debtors, such as income tax and student loan collectors, can garnish wages by sending a special notice to the employer; no judgment is needed. Court-ordered child support garnishments do not need a separate judgment to garnish for arrears.

Indiana allows a debtor to set up a payment plan with the judgment creditor to avoid garnishment. If all parties approve, the employer does not receive a garnishment notice, and the debtor voluntarily gives the creditor money according to the agreed-on payment schedule.