Encino Wage Garnishment Lawyer
A wage garnishment is not a punishment handed down by a judge. It is a collection tool that a creditor can only use after winning a court judgment against you, which means that if your paycheck is being cut, a lawsuit already ended somewhere, often without you ever answering it. That fact shapes everything about how to stop it. Encino wage garnishment lawyer help from Wadhwani & Shanfeld means a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief firm that handles garnishments, creditor lawsuits, Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and debt settlement for clients in Encino and across Los Angeles County and Southern California.
Most people first learn about the garnishment when their employer tells them, or when a paycheck comes in noticeably smaller. By then the creditor has a judgment, has asked the court to issue a wage garnishment, and the employer has been ordered to hold back part of each paycheck. The good news is that a garnishment is not permanent by default. It can be stopped, reduced, or challenged, and the right route depends on what kind of debt it is, how old the judgment is, and what else you owe.
How California Wage Garnishment Actually Works
On an ordinary consumer judgment, California limits how much of your pay a creditor can take. The cap is the smaller of two numbers: 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage. If the local minimum wage is higher than the state minimum, the local rate is used. For people paid every two weeks, twice a month, or monthly, the multiplier changes to 96, 104, or 208 times the minimum wage. In practice, lower earners often lose far less than 20 percent, and some lose nothing at all.
There is also a second path to relief that many people never hear about. A judgment debtor can ask the court to exempt whatever portion of earnings is proven necessary to support the debtor and the debtor’s family. This is done by filing a claim of exemption, and it requires real documentation of your household budget. It will not always succeed, but for a family stretched thin, it can reduce a garnishment without filing bankruptcy.
California law also protects your job. An employer cannot fire you because your wages are being garnished for a single judgment. That protection is narrower than people assume, so it is worth talking through before you assume your position is safe.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Garnishment Defense
The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, Raj Wadhwani and Greg Shanfeld, both founding shareholders and partners. Between them and their team, the firm has more than 90 years of combined legal experience. The firm represents clients in Encino and throughout the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County.
That background matters for garnishment cases because the fastest way to stop a levy is often a bankruptcy filing, and the details of filing matter. Greg Shanfeld has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Raj Wadhwani, a Southwestern Law School graduate, helped pilot the Best Case Bankruptcy software in 1998 and was the first attorney to file a bankruptcy case electronically in the Central District of California. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, a free consultation, and fast action when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. Cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available. Because the firm handles both bankruptcy and the alternatives, you hear which option fits your situation, including when bankruptcy is not the right answer.
Situations That Lead to Wages Being Garnished in Encino
Garnishments come from several kinds of debt, and the type of debt changes your options. These are the situations we see most often:
- Credit Card Judgments: A card issuer or a debt buyer sues, the lawsuit goes unanswered, and a default judgment follows. Many Encino professionals and service workers first see the garnishment months after the case was filed.
- Medical Debt Judgments: Unpaid hospital or physician bills that went to collections and then to court. These are generally dischargeable in a Chapter 7 case.
- Personal Loan and Payday Loan Judgments: Unsecured loans from online lenders or storefront lenders that turned into lawsuits after missed payments.
- Repossession Deficiency Judgments: After a car is repossessed and sold, the lender can sue for the shortfall. That balance is often unsecured and can be wiped out in bankruptcy.
- Old Judgments Being Renewed: A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed. Recent law limits renewal to a single five-year extension for personal debt judgments with unpaid principal under $50,000 and medical judgments under $200,000.
- IRS and State Tax Debt: Tax agencies levy wages through a different process than a court judgment, with different rules and different solutions, including payment arrangements and, in some cases, discharge of older income tax debt.
- Child Support and Spousal Support: These garnishments follow separate, more aggressive rules and generally cannot be eliminated in bankruptcy.
- Bank Account Levies: Often paired with wage garnishment. California automatically shields a set amount in a deposit account from levy on most consumer judgments, but that protection does not apply to debts owed to the state, support debts, or wages owed to another person.
What to Do Once the Garnishment Has Started
Start by getting the paperwork. Your employer should have a copy of the earnings withholding order, and it will name the creditor, the court, and the case number. Pull your last few pay stubs and any court papers you have received, even ones you ignored. If you remember being served with a lawsuit months ago, find it. What matters is whether the judgment is valid and whether the debt was even old enough to be sued on in the first place.
That last point is more useful than people realize. In California, a creditor generally has four years to sue on a written contract debt and two years on an oral one. If a creditor sued after that deadline, the expired deadline is a defense, but you have to raise it in a written answer. A court can still enter judgment if you do not respond. And a payment on a time-barred debt does not revive it; only a signed written acknowledgment of the debt can restart the clock. If a default judgment was entered on a debt that was too old, there may be grounds to challenge it.
Next, talk to a bankruptcy attorney before you do anything that moves money, such as paying the creditor directly or settling informally. Filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case triggers the automatic stay, which halts most garnishments from the moment the petition is filed. Your employer must stop withholding, and the creditor is barred from further collection. If you live in Encino, your bankruptcy case would be filed with the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which serves Encino along with Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, Reseda, and neighboring communities. The garnishment itself would have been issued out of Los Angeles County Superior Court, which handles consumer debt lawsuits.
A few mistakes come up again and again. People ignore court papers hoping the problem goes away. They pay a debt collector a “good faith” amount that gets used against them. Or they wait until two paychecks have been cut before calling anyone. Each pay period that passes is money you will not get back, so the sooner you review your options, the more you keep.
Bankruptcy and the Other Ways Out
For most people with unsecured debt, Chapter 7 is the cleanest answer. It can eliminate credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, and repossession deficiencies, ends the garnishment on filing, and most cases finish in roughly four months. Whether you qualify depends on the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for your household size and then considers your actual expenses.
If your income is too high for Chapter 7, or you have debts it cannot touch, Chapter 13 reorganizes what you owe into a single monthly payment over three to five years. It also stops garnishments and can protect a home you are trying to keep. Nonbankruptcy options exist too. We negotiate directly with creditors to settle debt for less than owed, and in some cases a claim of exemption or a challenge to the judgment is the right first move.
California does not use the federal exemption list. A filer chooses one of two state systems for the whole case: the standard system with a substantial homestead exemption, or an alternative system with a wildcard amount that often suits renters better. The homestead amount under the standard system is tied to local home prices within a statutory floor and ceiling and adjusts for inflation. You must also have lived in California for at least 730 days to use these exemptions. Most clients keep their property, but choosing the wrong system can cost you, which is why that decision gets careful attention.
Encino Garnishment and Bankruptcy FAQs
How fast can bankruptcy stop a wage garnishment?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment your petition is filed. After that, your employer should be notified to stop withholding. In urgent cases, a petition can often be prepared and filed quickly.
How much can be taken from my paycheck?
On an ordinary consumer judgment, the creditor can take the smaller of 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum wage. Pay periods other than weekly use a larger multiplier. Support orders and tax levies follow different rules.
Can my employer fire me for being garnished?
Not for a garnishment on a single judgment. California law bars an employer from terminating you for that reason. Federal and state law also prohibit firing someone solely because they filed for bankruptcy.
What if I never knew I was sued?
That happens more than people expect, often because of a service address problem. If you were not properly served, you may be able to ask the court to set aside the default judgment. This is time-sensitive, so bring any papers you have to a consultation.
Does a time-barred debt mean I cannot be garnished?
Only if you raised the defense in court. A creditor who sues after the limitations period can still win by default if you do not answer. Once a valid judgment is entered, the creditor can enforce it for 10 years, even if the underlying debt would have been too old to sue on.
Can a judgment be renewed after 10 years?
Yes, but the rules tightened. For personal debt judgments with unpaid principal under $50,000 and medical judgments under $200,000, renewal is limited to one time and five years. Larger judgments can still be renewed for 10 years at a time.
Will bankruptcy get back money already garnished?
It depends on timing. Wages garnished within the 90 days before filing may be recoverable in some circumstances, and the details turn on how the case is structured. That is a question to raise at your consultation.
Is my bank account at risk too?
Possibly. A creditor with a judgment can also levy a bank account. California automatically protects a set dollar amount in a deposit account, applied by the bank without you filing anything. That protection does not apply to levies for support, wages owed to another, or debts owed to the state.
Can I stop a garnishment without filing bankruptcy?
Sometimes. A claim of exemption based on your family’s necessary expenses, a negotiated settlement, a challenge to a defective judgment, or a payment arrangement can all work, depending on the debt. We will tell you if bankruptcy is not needed.
Will bankruptcy hurt my credit more than the garnishment?
Most people who reach the garnishment stage already have damaged credit from missed payments, collections, and a judgment. Scores often begin recovering within a year of discharge with steady, responsible use of credit.
What if the creditor violated debt collection laws?
California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as collectors. A consumer can recover actual damages, an additional $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, and attorney fees if successful. The suit must be brought within one year, so deadlines matter.
Do I have to come into an office to start?
No. The whole process can be handled by phone, email, video, and online chat.
Serving Encino and Surrounding Garnishment Clients
We represent people in Encino and throughout the San Fernando Valley, including Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. Clients also come from the Westside and Hollywood, from Santa Monica and Los Angeles proper, and from Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster, and Acton in the Antelope Valley.
Across Los Angeles County we serve Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. In the Inland Empire and eastern San Gabriel Valley, we work with clients in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley. Orange County clients come from Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel.
Talk to an Encino Wage Garnishment Attorney Today
Every pay period that goes by with a garnishment in place is money out of your household budget. If your paycheck is being cut, call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney about stopping it. An Encino wage garnishment attorney at our firm will review the judgment, your income, and your debts, and tell you honestly whether bankruptcy, a challenge to the judgment, or a negotiated resolution gives you the best path forward. You can meet by phone, email, or video from home.
