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Legal Services of North Dakota |
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What Is Garnishment? It is the withholding of your wages to pay a debt, or it is the withholding
of property (non-wages) held by a third party. ie. bank acct. How Will I Know If My Money Will Be Withheld? The action starts by serving you with a Notice Before Garnishment. Ten days later your employer will receive a Garnishee Summons. The Garnishee Summons tells the employer to withhold your money and how much can be withheld. You must also receive a copy of the Garnishee Summons. How Much Of My Wages Can Be Withheld? After deducting Social Security, Federal and State taxes, the smallest amount of the following: 25% of your wages (Example: Ms. Doe takes home $280 a week. 25% of $280 is $70.) or the difference between your wages and 40 times Federal minimum wage. (Example: $6.55 x 40 hours is $262. Subtracting $262 from Ms. Doe's wages of $262 is $18.) Your employer must withhold the smallest of the two amounts weekly unless you have dependent deductions. What Are Dependent Deductions? You can reduce the amount withheld or garnished from your wages by $20 for each dependent family member living with you. To claim the dependent deductions, you must file a verified list of dependents with your employer within ten days of your getting the Garnishee Summons. You must include Social Security numbers. After deducting for dependents, if the remaining amount is less than $10, the creditor can deduct nothing. Creditors can not garnish any of the following except for other than child support:
Social Security checks, Unemployment checks, Veteran's Administration checks and Workforce Insurance checks can be garnished for child support obligations. What Should I Do If I Receive a Notice and Summons Before Garnishment? Immediately file a verified list of dependents with your employer. In order to claim the additional $20 deduction for each dependent, you must give your employer the completed verified list of dependents within 10 days after you receive the Garnishee Summons. What Should I Do If I Receive A Non-Wage Garnishment Notice? You have twenty (20) days to complete a claim for exemptions to protect your property. You must list your property and the values and provide this to the creditor who served you with the non-wage garnishment. You should read Legal Services of North Dakota's brochure number 025 entitled How Can A Claim for Exemptions Help Me? There are significant Constitutional issues with the use of the non-wage garnishment. If you have property that is being held by a third-party (i.e. bank account) and that property us being garnished and you have not received a Notice Before Garnishment, you should contact LSND or a private attorney for advice. This information is not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, you should talk to a lawyer and ask for advice about your options. |
