Florida Garnishment Rules

• Florida exempts heads of household from wage garnishment.florida secret image by feisty from Fotolia.com
  
  If a person fails to pay a debt, a creditor can try various methods to collect the debt. One method is to petition a court for a writ of garnishment. Someone who owes a debt is called a debtor. Florida laws proscribe certain rules and procedures for how creditors can use garnishment to go after debtors. Garnishment has a negative effect on debtors' credit history and can remain on their credit history for up to seven years. The main method creditors use for garnishment is to garnish the debtor’s wages.
  
  

Judgment

• In Florida, to use garnishment as a debt collection method, the creditor must obtain a money judgment against the debtor. A judge may enter a money judgment against a debtor after the creditor files and wins a lawsuit against the debtor. Most lawsuits of this nature are relatively uncomplicated because all the creditor must prove is that the defendant owes a debt and has stopped paying the debt. Once the judge enters a money judgment, the creditor can conduct discovery.
  
  

Discovery

• Discovery is a process in which parties to a lawsuit provide each other with documents and information relevant to the case. In collection cases, a creditor will typically attempt to find out what assets and income the debtor has. To find this information out, the creditor may request bank account, employment and other relevant information. Creditors may request documents, ask the debtor for written answers to written questions--called interrogatories--or take the debtor’s deposition, which involves questioning the debtor under oath in the presence of a court reporter. Once the debtor has the information it needs, the creditor may file for a writ of garnishment.
  
  

Writ

• A writ of garnishment in Florida is a court order stating that the debtor’s employer must deduct portions of the debtor’s wages and pay them directly to the creditor until the deductions satisfy the debt. Florida law only permits a creditor to garnish a debtor’s wages if the debtor makes $500 or more per week. However, if the debtor is a head of household, the debtor can be exempt from wage garnishment. To get the exemption, the debtor must provide an affidavit to the court attesting to the fact that the debtor provides more than 50 percent support to a child or other dependent. A head-of-household debtor can consent to wage garnishment. In addition, federal law exempts 75 percent of a debtor’s wages from garnishment. That means the most the creditor can obtain from a non-head of household debtor is 25 percent of a debtor’s paycheck.
  
  

Legal Aid

• Please contact a qualified attorney licensed to practice in Florida to find out what rights and/or obligations, if any, you may have with regard to Florida garnishment rules, which are subject to change.