Garnishment Question...

[fiats3]

O.k. who's the resident expert on garnishments? I know every state has varying garnishment laws; in some states the garnishing party can withhold/take 25% of your wages..in some states there are no garnishments allowed, period. But here's the question: Is the garnishment law that affects you based on where you live or, where the company you work for is located? In other words, say you live in Texas where garnishments are largely prohibited, but your company is located in Virginia where the 25% garnishment rule/law applies...
will you be garnished or not?...

Anyone?

[StaciMM]

I'm pretty sure its based on where you live, just as you pay taxes to the state you live/work in rather than the state the home office is located.

I didn't realize there were some states that didn't allow garnishment. (I assume child support, IRS, etc. stil happen but not other creditors?)

[whtsamada]

just found this

Your posting got me curious and I found this info on a site. Not sure about the validity but it seemed legit.

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/state-wage-garnishments.html#44

Texas Wage Garnishment

Wages cannot be attached or garnished, except for child support.

Income that is not a wage can be garnished or ordered turned over to a receiver.

Bank accounts, rents and royalties can be garnished.

Exemptions include social security benefits.

WARNING For individuals living in Texas who are paid from an out of state location, there is case law (Baumgardner vs. Sou Pacific 177 S.W. 2d 317) to support taking a judgment from Texas, domesticating the judgment in the foreign state, then filing the wage garnishment there. Many creditors have used this strategy successfully.

[HHM]

I would say that generally the garnishment must be based on where you reside for court jurisdictional reasons.

Not withstanding the case law that whtsamada cited, I am not sure how a foriegn jurisdcition (another state) to which you have no connection (exept that the company you work for is based there) can exercise any jurisdition over your property rights. State exmemptions laws protect the citizens of the state, so if you are citizen of Texas, for example, then you get the protection of Texas exemption law, no mater where your paycheck comes from.

But that is just my opinion.

[shadowb]

I read also on the above site there are exceptions. I thought I found my answer. Right now my garnishment by the trustee is taking 100%, i.e. I have a zero check and not enough in to pay my benefits. My lawyers are crappy and have been no help. Anyway, there is an exception that says there is that above percentage cap, EXCEPT as ordered by a court of law. And I am assuming a trustee ordered garnishment follows into the category. To me its kinda scary that this means they can literally suck up your whole check and apparently its perfectly legal. My employer called the trustee yesterday to inform them that right now my benefits are not being paid and asked the trustee if she would be paying them for me since the law states that the trustee would have to, OR change the garnisment to cover my deductions. The trustee hasn't given my employer an answer.

[HHM]

Do not post in old threads, this thread was started in 2005