Stopping Wage Garnishment in Florida

A wage garnishment is a court order directing your employer to withhold a portion of each paycheck and remit it to a judgment creditor. In Florida, wage garnishment requires a final judgment and a writ of garnishment. Once in place, a garnishment can take 25% of disposable earnings (or more for certain debts) for as long as it takes to satisfy the judgment plus interest.

Several tools can stop a garnishment quickly. The right one depends on your income, marital and family status, and the type of underlying debt.

The Florida Head-of-Family Exemption

Florida is one of the most protective states in the country for wage earners. Section 222.11 of the Florida Statutes exempts the entire wages of a "head of family" from garnishment unless the wage earner has signed a written waiver. The exemption applies if you provide more than half the support of a child or other dependent.

Even where there is no head-of-family status, federal law caps consumer-debt garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. Florida adopts the same federal cap for non-head-of-family wages.

If you are entitled to a head-of-family exemption, we file a claim of exemption and request for hearing. The garnishment is stayed pending the hearing and, in many cases, the creditor releases the writ once the exemption is documented.

Bankruptcy as the Definitive Solution

The fastest universal solution to a wage garnishment is a bankruptcy filing. The instant a petition is filed, the automatic stay stops every garnishment and levy by every creditor. A Chapter 7 case typically discharges the underlying judgment within a few months, eliminating the garnishment permanently.

For wages already withheld but not yet remitted to the creditor, the petition can sometimes recover funds depending on timing and the value of the funds compared to applicable exemptions.

Bank Account Levies

The same writ that authorizes wage garnishment also allows the creditor to freeze and levy bank accounts. A levied account is a particularly disruptive event – rent, mortgage, car payments, and other bills bounce until the levy is released or the account is unfrozen.

Florida law protects certain funds in a bank account from levy:

• Social Security and Supplemental Security Income – protected by federal law
• Veterans benefits and most disability payments
• Retirement-account distributions
• Head-of-family wages deposited within the most recent six months and identifiable as wages (with proper claim of exemption)
• Child support and alimony received by the debtor

If the account contains exempt funds, we file a claim of exemption to recover them. If the account contains non-exempt funds and the levy is recent, a bankruptcy filing typically releases the freeze.

Garnishments for Child Support, Alimony, and Taxes

The head-of-family exemption does not apply to garnishments for domestic support obligations (child support, alimony) or federal tax debts. These garnishments require different strategies – modification of the underlying support obligation, a payment plan with the IRS, or Chapter 13 to pay arrears over time.

Child support garnishment under Title III of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act can reach up to 50% of disposable earnings if the obligor is supporting another spouse or child, or 60% if not – with an additional 5% allowed for arrearages more than 12 weeks old. Florida's Income Deduction Order procedure under Fla. Stat. § 61.1301 is the most common vehicle for support enforcement and operates outside the consumer-creditor garnishment framework. Filing bankruptcy does not stop a child-support withholding, because domestic support obligations are excepted from the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(2).

For IRS levies, the Internal Revenue Service is not bound by Florida's head-of-family exemption. Instead, federal law leaves the taxpayer with a small statutory amount based on filing status and dependents (calculated using Publication 1494). The remainder of the paycheck is forwarded to the IRS each pay period. A Chapter 13 filing stops an IRS wage levy and allows the priority portion of the tax debt to be paid over the life of the plan, with the non-priority portion treated as general unsecured. See our page on tax debt and bankruptcy for the discharge rules that govern when income taxes become eligible for discharge in Chapter 7.

The Claim-of-Exemption Procedure in Florida State Court

When a writ of garnishment is served on your employer or bank, Florida law requires the creditor to mail you a copy of the writ together with a notice describing your right to claim exemptions and the form to be used to do it. The notice must be sent within five business days under Fla. Stat. § 77.041. The procedure is roughly as follows:

1. Receive the writ and exemption notice. Watch your mail closely. The notice often comes from the creditor's lawyer, not the court clerk.
2. File a Claim of Exemption and Request for Hearing within 20 days of receiving the notice. The form is standardized but the substance – documenting head-of-family status, exempt deposits, or other defenses – is where most cases are won or lost.
3. Serve a copy on the creditor and the garnishee. The garnishee (employer or bank) must continue holding the funds but must not pay them over to the creditor while the claim is pending.
4. Attend the evidentiary hearing. The court will hear evidence on whether the wages or funds are exempt. Common proof includes tax returns showing dependents, household budget documentation, pay stubs, and bank statements tracing exempt deposits.
5. Obtain an order dissolving the writ or, if unsuccessful, evaluate bankruptcy.

Missing the 20-day window is one of the most common – and most expensive – mistakes consumers make. Once funds are paid over to the creditor, recovering them is difficult.

Stopping a Garnishment Without Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is not the only tool. Depending on the situation, options outside of bankruptcy include:

• Claim of exemption based on head-of-family status, Social Security deposits, or other protected categories
• Motion to vacate the underlying judgment where service of process was defective – a common defense in old credit-card and debt-buyer cases
• Statute of limitations defense if the underlying lawsuit was filed more than five years after the last payment or written acknowledgment (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(b) for written contracts)
• Negotiated settlement with the judgment creditor to release the writ in exchange for a lump-sum or structured payment, often at a substantial discount
• Motion to compel disclosure of the chain of assignments in debt-buyer cases where the creditor cannot prove ownership of the account
• Bond to dissolve the writ under Fla. Stat. § 77.24, used in commercial cases more than consumer ones

For some clients, a non-bankruptcy resolution preserves bankruptcy as a "rainy day" tool for future use. For others – particularly those with multiple judgments or judgment-proof exempt assets but vulnerable wages – bankruptcy is the right answer the first time.

Documents to Gather Before the Consultation

• Copy of the writ of garnishment and any exemption notice received
• Most recent two months of pay stubs
• Most recent two months of bank statements for any levied account
• Copy of the final judgment (often attached to the writ)
• Most recent two years of federal tax returns
• List of dependents claimed and household members
• Any prior correspondence with the creditor or its lawyers

If we are filing bankruptcy as the emergency response, we will need additional documents for the petition (six months of pay records, retirement and bank statements, identification, Social Security number verification, and the credit-counseling certificate completed within the 180 days before filing).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my employer fire me for being garnished?

Federal law (15 U.S.C. § 1674) prohibits an employer from terminating an employee because of garnishment for a single indebtedness. Multiple garnishments for separate debts do not enjoy the same protection under federal law, although employers in Florida typically do not act on that distinction.

How long does a Florida judgment last?

A Florida judgment is enforceable for 20 years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(1)) and can be renewed for an additional 20-year period. Judgment liens recorded against real property must be re-recorded every ten years to remain effective. Old judgments can be revived and used to garnish wages decades after the original lawsuit, which is why we look at the date of the original judgment carefully in every consultation.

Will filing bankruptcy refund the wages already taken?

Wages garnished within 90 days before filing may be recoverable as a preference under 11 U.S.C. § 547 if the total taken exceeds $600 (the consumer-case threshold under § 547(c)(8)). The trustee, not the debtor, has the right to recover the funds, but a recovery typically becomes available to fund the case and benefit creditors generally. Funds withheld but not yet remitted as of the petition date are often released back to the debtor through a motion in the bankruptcy court.

Does the head-of-family exemption protect a self-employed person?

The statute uses the word "wages," which Florida courts have interpreted narrowly. Earnings paid as W-2 wages or salary from an unrelated employer are clearly covered. Distributions to an owner of an S corporation, draws from a sole proprietorship, and 1099 contractor income are subject to fact-intensive analysis. Florida courts look at whether the payments are compensation for personal services or returns on invested capital. We address this issue in detail for our self-employed clients.

Can a creditor garnish my Florida homestead or my IRA?

No. The Florida homestead is constitutionally protected from forced sale by general creditors. IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pensions, and most other tax-qualified retirement accounts are protected under Fla. Stat. § 222.21. These protections survive a judgment and survive a bankruptcy filing. See our overview of Florida bankruptcy exemptions.

Acting Quickly Matters

The longer a garnishment runs, the more money is lost to the creditor. If you have been served with a writ of garnishment or have noticed missing funds in your paycheck or bank account, call 786-522-1411 immediately. In many cases we can file emergency relief within a few business days and stop the bleeding. The Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, PA represents wage-garnishment clients throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, and practices in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.