Garnishment Answer Letter

Garnishment, or wage garnishment, is when money is legally withheld from your paycheck and sent to another party. It refers to a legal process that instructs a third party to deduct payments directly from a debtor's wage or bank account. Typically, the third party is the debtor's employer and is known as the garnishee.

If your income is protected from garnishment and you have no assets (house, property, savings etc.) with which to pay your debt, you may be 'Judgment Proof'. Income that can NOT be garnished: TANF, GAU, SSI, SSDI, SSA, Food Stamps, child support, pension, etc. Income that can be garnished is wages from employment.

The Order dissolves the existing writ of garnishment. It means that whatever was being garnished, wages or bank accounts, are no longer subject to the writ of garnishment.

If you are served with a garnishment summons, do not ignore these documents because they do not directly involve a debt that you owe. Instead, you should immediately freeze any payments to the debtor, retain the necessary property, and provide the required written disclosure.

In most states, employers answer a writ of garnishment by filling out the paperwork attached to the judgment and returning it to the creditor or the creditor's attorney.

Make sure you state you are exercising your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Include a sentence or two describing why you are judgment-proof For example: I am judgment proof because I am living only on Social Security benefits, own limited exempt property, and cannot meet current expenses.

Judgment proof is a description of a person who does not have enough assets for a creditor to seize when a court order requires debt repayment. A debtor who is broke and unemployed can be considered judgment proof, as can a debtor who only has certain legally protected types of assets or income.

Include in your letter what steps you plan to take to address the default, such as making a reasonable effort at a payment plan. Mention any circumstances that have changed recently to make your ability to pay off the debt more likely. This conveys to the creditor your goodwill toward satisfying the debt.

What you can do about wage garnishment.You have to be legally notified of the garnishment. You can file a dispute if the notice has inaccurate information or you believe you don't owe the debt. Some forms of income, such as Social Security and veterans benefits, are exempt from garnishment as income.