Wage garnishment - how can I best support my claim for exemption

[AnIndividual09]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
Wages have been garnished - have filed claim of exemption and request for hearing, hearing has been scheduled - creditor is calling trying to negotiate a settlement. I want to know what type of supporting documents I should show up with to prove my claim of exemption. The 25% garnishment will make me unable to pay mortgage, auto, power, health insurance, etc. Can anyone offer advice?

[dfromnyli]

What is your plan for paying back the judgment creditor? Why are mortgage, power, auto, health insurance more important bills?

[Proserpina]

Originally Posted by AnIndividual09

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
Wages have been garnished - have filed claim of exemption and request for hearing, hearing has been scheduled - creditor is calling trying to negotiate a settlement. I want to know what type of supporting documents I should show up with to prove my claim of exemption. The 25% garnishment will make me unable to pay mortgage, auto, power, health insurance, etc. Can anyone offer advice?

If they can't garnish your wages they can try your bank account - and if you get a tax return and it's deposited into the account they can take that, too.

So. Couple of options:

Negotiate a settlement. Don't think that because you listed exemptions means that they can't garnish you at all.

File for bankruptcy.

Get a second (or third) job.


Having said all that, this might help you - it's a brief synopsis of exemptions allowed in Florida:

Unless the judgment creditor has a lien or security interest in this property, this constitutional exemption allows you to protect up to $1,000 worth of your property from execution or attachment. This $1,000 can include wages and money held in a bank account. If you own more than $1,000 worth of personal property, you can choose which property to protect.

Wages of the head of a family are exempt from garnishment unless the person's net wages are more than $500 per week and the person has agreed in writing to allow wages to be taken to pay the debt.

Persons who do not qualify as head of family will still have the protection of federal law which limits the amount of wages that can be garnished. If you take home less than 30 times the minimum wage per week, all of your wages are exempt. Otherwise, a judgment creditor can obtain 25 percent of your net wages under a continuing writ of garnishment until the judgment is paid in full.

Your interest in a vehicle is exempt up to $1,000 of its value. This means that your vehicle cannot be taken to satisfy a judgment unless the value of the car, less all debts for which the vehicle is collateral, is greater than $1,000.

All professionally prescribed health aids used by you or your dependents are exempt from being taken by creditors. Other types of income, including Social Security benefits, workers compensation, unemployment benefits, disability benefits, Veteran's benefits and retirement benefits are exempt from garnishment.