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Responding to a Wage Garnishment Notice Before the Deadline | Virginia Law Help

Responding to a Wage Garnishment Notice Before the Deadline

Read this in: Español

Reviewed by: Jay Speer, Dana Wiggins, Sarah Morton

If money is being taken from your paycheck to pay a debt, this is called wage garnishment. A court has ordered your employer to send part of your wages to someone you owe money to.

Not sure where to start? Here is a quick guide:

  • If money is already being taken from your paycheck, read: How to stop or reduce an existing garnishment.
  • If you received a garnishment notice but no money has been taken yet, keep reading. You may be able to stop the garnishment before it starts.
  • If no money is being withheld and you have not received any notice, you probably don't need to take any action right now. Keep an eye on your paycheck and bank accounts just in case.

Try to get free or low-cost legal help: 

  • Call 866-LEGLAID (866-534-5243) or visit virginialawhelp.org/get-legal-help to find a legal aid office in your area.

  • You can also use the NACA (National Association of Consumer Advocates) lawyer Directory to find a lawyer. Under “area of practice,” select “bankruptcy” from the drop-down menu. Be sure to ask in advance if there is a charge for the initial consultation.

This article is about wage garnishment in Virginia. The rules are different in other states. If you live outside Virginia, you can find free legal help near you at LSC’s find-legal-aid tool.

What is a garnishment notice?

Before garnishment starts, you should receive a notice. It is usually on colored paper, stapled to other court documents. You can see an example of this “Notice To Judgment Debtor” on the VA Courts website. The court documents will also include something called a “Garnishment Summons.” On the top right-hand corner of this form, you will see a return date. This is your deadline to take action. You can see an example of a “Garnishment Summons” on the VA Courts website.

The return date is important. After that date, the court can give your money to the creditor (the person or company you owe money to). Once the money is paid out, you cannot get it back. 

There are things you can do immediately to stop a wage garnishment. Do not wait until the return date.

Why the deadline matters

After the return date passes:

  • The court can give your money to the creditor
  • Once the creditor gets the money, you can't get it back, even if you should have kept it
  • The garnishment continues taking money from every paycheck until the debt is paid off
  • You lose your best chance to stop it

Even if you miss the deadline, you can still take action to reduce future payments. But it's much easier to act now.

Which situation are you in? 

Your next step depends on why you want to stop the garnishment. Pick the one that matches your situation:

If your income is protected (exempt)

Some types of income can't be garnished. If all or most of your income is protected, you can file an exemption claim to stop the garnishment.

Read more: Income Protected from Garnishment (Exemptions). This article explains which income is protected and exactly how to file the paperwork.

If they're taking too much money

Virginia limits how much money can be taken from each paycheck. If the garnishment is taking more than the law allows, you can ask your employer and/or the court to fix it.

The limit is 40 times the minimum wage OR 75% of your take-home pay, whichever lets you keep more money.

Read more: How Much of My Wages Can Be Garnished in Virginia? This article shows you how to calculate the correct amount and explains how to fix it, if they're taking too much.

If the debt was already paid

If you already paid this debt, you'll need to prove you paid in order to stop your wages being garnished. Start collecting receipts, canceled checks, bank statements, and any other proof you paid to court.

Your best option: 

Call legal aid and ask for assistance with this step. If legal aid cannot help you, a NACA lawyer may be able to assist you. See the “where can I get help?” section below.

Option to represent yourself: 

If you are unable to find legal assistance to take these steps for you, then you can represent yourself.

Here is what to do:

  1. Ask the court to mark the debt as paid (satisfied). You'll need to show the court that you paid the debt in full. Use DC-459, Motion to Mark Judgment Satisfied to do this. Bring receipts, canceled checks, bank statements, and any other proof of payment to support your request.

  2. Ask the court to stop the garnishment (Motion to Quash). You'll also need to file a Motion to Quash to formally stop the garnishment. This is a separate request asking the judge to cancel the garnishment order. Fill out this Motion to Quash form if the debt was paid in full. 

Bring both the Motion to Quash and Form DC-459 to the court date at the same time.

Remember: Try to find a lawyer first. If you can't find a lawyer, you can represent yourself. Acting on your own is better than doing nothing and letting the creditor keep your money.

If the debt was discharged in bankruptcy

A discharge in bankruptcy is a court order saying you no longer owe a debt. If your debt was discharged, the creditor is not allowed to garnish you for it.

Your best option: 

Call legal aid and ask for assistance with this step. If legal aid cannot help you, a NACA lawyer may be able to assist you. See the “where can I get help?” section below.

Option to represent yourself: 

If you are unable to find legal assistance to take these steps for you, then you can represent yourself.

Here is what to do:

  1. Fill out a Motion to Quash. This is a request asking the judge to cancel the garnishment order.

  2. Go to court and file the motion. Attach a photocopy of your final discharge (the last order in the bankruptcy case) to the motion. Bring another photocopy of that order to court with you.

If you never got notice of the lawsuit

Before a garnishment can happen, the creditor had to sue you and win a judgment (a court decision saying you owe the money). You should have also been served. Service is the official process of delivering court papers to you. It is required by law so that you have a chance to respond before a judge makes a decision about you.

If you never got papers about the lawsuit, the judgment might not be valid. You may be able to challenge the garnishment.

To find out what the court says, contact the clerk (the court employee who keeps records) at the court where the judgment was entered. Ask how the court records show you were served, and at what address.

For example, you may hear: "You were served by posting, at 123 Maple Street." Write down exactly what the clerk tells you. Read it back to them to confirm you got it right. Say "thank you for your time."

Do not argue with the clerk. The clerk can give you information, but cannot change things. Only the judge can do that, after you file paperwork.

Once you have that information, contact legal aid or a NACA lawyer for help with your next steps. See the "Where can I get help?" section below.

Read more: How to Find Out What Your Garnishment Is For

If you've negotiated a payment plan

If you made a payment plan with the creditor after the garnishment started, you may be able to ask for the garnishment to stop. But it depends on what your agreement says.

Keep in mind: Verbal agreements do not count. Do not trust what a creditor tells you over the phone or in the hallway before court. If you have an agreement, it must be in writing, with a date and timestamp.

You can always ask the creditor to dismiss (end) the garnishment. Talk to the creditor first. It may be a mistake, and they may be willing to drop it. Do your best to stay current on the payment plan while you wait for their answer.

To ask a judge to dismiss the garnishment, you need more than a spoken agreement. Your written agreement must specifically state that the garnishment will be dismissed. If your agreement does not say this, the judge probably will not be able to help you.

If your written agreement does say the garnishment will end, you may be able to file a motion to quash. This tells the court that both sides agreed to end the garnishment. Contact legal aid or a NACA lawyer for help. See "Where can I get help?" below.

What if I already missed the return date? 

You can still take action.

Even though the creditor might have already received some money, you can:

This will protect future paychecks, not money already paid to the creditor.

Where can I get free legal help? 

Things to remember

  • The return date is your deadline.
  • You can't get money back after it's paid to the creditor.
  • Act now. Don't wait.
  • Keep copies of everything.
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