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Can you request a garnishment as part of a collection lawsuit?

by | Aug 12, 2021 | Business Law

Collecting on a debt isn’t easy if the person who owes you money doesn’t want to pay. While you may have a contract with the debtor or a record of the financial transaction, they might refuse to pay back what they owe your company. 

Some people will go to great lengths to avoid their financial obligations. They might give away property, move to a new house or get a new phone number so that you have no way to contact them. People even hide collateral property, like vehicles, so that lenders can repossess them when payments stop. 

When someone who owes you money just won’t accept responsibility, you may have no choice but to ask the Georgia civil courts for help. Requesting a garnishment can be a way to force someone to repay their debts.

How do garnishments work in Georgia?

If you go to court to ask for a garnishment, you can receive direct repayment from someone’s paycheck before the funds ever go to them. A garnishment basically cuts the person who owes you money out of the repayment process.

How much a debtor makes determines how much you can receive when you garnish their wages. Georgia allows you to ask for up to 25% of someone’s disposable income or income over 30 hours of minimum wage pay every week. If they make less than that, you may not be able to secure a garnishment of their wages. If they make more than that, you can expect the garnishment to help repay the balance they owe your company. 

Despite those restrictions, garnishment can be one of the fastest ways to secure repayment from a non-compliant borrower or debtor. Exploring all of your debt collection options can help your company turn bad debts into paid-off accounts.