Granada Hills Wage Garnishment Lawyer
Wadhwani & Shanfeld represents Granada Hills residents whose paychecks are being cut by a creditor, and the firm handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, creditor lawsuits, and IRS tax debt for clients across Los Angeles County and the rest of Southern California. If you have just seen a smaller deposit than you expected, or your payroll office handed you a notice you did not understand, you need a Granada Hills wage garnishment lawyer who can tell you quickly whether that garnishment is lawful, how much of your pay it can actually take, and what stops it.
A garnishment in California does not appear out of nowhere. For ordinary consumer debts, a creditor has to sue, win a judgment (or obtain one by default when the defendant never answered), and then ask the court for a wage garnishment order that the sheriff serves on your employer. That sequence matters, because every step is a place where something may have gone wrong: a lawsuit filed after the limitations period ran, a summons you never received, a garnishment percentage calculated incorrectly. The most useful thing a reader can do early is figure out which kind of garnishment they are dealing with.
How Much of Your Paycheck a Creditor Can Actually Take
For a typical money judgment, California caps the garnishment at the lesser of two numbers: 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings, or 40 percent of the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage. Disposable earnings means what is left after legally required deductions such as taxes, not after voluntary ones. If you are paid biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly, the multiplier changes to 96, 104, or 208 times the minimum wage. Where a city or county sets a local minimum wage higher than the state’s, the higher local rate goes into the formula, which can shrink the creditor’s share for workers in higher-wage jurisdictions.
The practical result is that lower-wage workers often lose far less than 20 percent, and sometimes nothing at all. Many people assume the creditor automatically takes the maximum. It does not, and an employer that withholds more than the formula allows is withholding too much.
There is also a safety valve many debtors never use. California lets a judgment debtor claim as exempt the portion of earnings shown to be necessary to support the debtor and the debtor’s family. That requires filing a claim of exemption with supporting financial information, and it works best when a household budget genuinely cannot absorb the withholding. Tax levies, child support orders, and other non-consumer garnishments follow different rules, so identifying the creditor and the type of order is the first job.
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 and carries more than 90 years of combined legal experience. Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, and the firm moves fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away.
Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and partner, is a Southwestern Law School graduate who 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. Greg Shanfeld, also a founding shareholder and partner, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
That depth matters for garnishment because the strongest tool against a garnishment is often bankruptcy, and a firm that handles both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy alternatives can recommend what fits rather than what it happens to sell. Consultations are free, and the whole case can be handled by phone, email, video, and online chat, with 100% virtual consultations available.
Situations That Lead to a Garnishment in Granada Hills
- Credit Card Judgments: The most common source. A card issuer or a debt buyer sues, and when the defendant does not file a written answer, a default judgment follows. Garnishment can start soon after.
- Medical Bill Judgments: Hospital and physician-group accounts that went to collections and then to court. These are unsecured debts that Chapter 7 can generally discharge.
- Personal and Payday Loan Judgments: Lenders and their assignees obtain judgments on defaulted loans and go after wages once a judgment is entered.
- Repossession Deficiencies: After a vehicle is repossessed and sold, the lender may sue for the shortfall. A deficiency judgment can be garnished, though the lender must have followed the notice rules in Civil Code section 2983.2 to claim a deficiency at all.
- Bank Account Levies: Not a wage garnishment, but frequently paired with one. Under CCP section 704.220, a set amount of deposit account funds is automatically protected without you filing anything, and the bank must apply that protection before turning money over. It does not apply to levies for wages owed to another, support, or debts owed to the state.
- IRS and State Tax Levies: Governed by separate rules and not subject to the ordinary 20 percent formula. These call for negotiation with the taxing agency or a bankruptcy analysis of how old the tax debt is.
- Small Business Debts Personally Guaranteed: Owners who guaranteed a business loan or lease can see a judgment land on their personal wages when the business fails.
What to Do the Day You Learn Your Wages Are Being Garnished
Start by getting the paper. Ask your payroll or HR department for a copy of the earnings withholding order, and pull any court papers you were served earlier. The order names the creditor, the court, and the case number. For Granada Hills residents, a consumer collection case is typically heard in a Los Angeles County Superior Court courthouse, and the file will show whether a default was entered and whether the judgment amount matches what the creditor claims.
Next, check the timing. A written-contract debt generally must be sued on within four years, and an oral-contract debt within two. The expired deadline is a defense you have to raise in a written answer; the court will not raise it for you, which is why many time-barred debts still end in judgments. A payment on an already time-barred debt does not revive it, and only a signed written acknowledgment restarts the clock. A money judgment itself stays enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed, though recent changes limit renewal to one five-year extension for medical judgments and personal debt judgments under certain principal amounts.
Then decide how to stop it. If the judgment is valid, your realistic options are a claim of exemption, a negotiated payment arrangement, or bankruptcy. Filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case triggers the automatic stay, which halts most garnishments the moment the petition is filed, and your employer is instructed to stop withholding. Granada Hills sits within the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and the division is assigned by the zip code of your street address. The most common mistake is waiting through several paychecks hoping the creditor goes away; it will not, and each pay period the money withheld is money you may not get back. The other frequent mistake is quitting or changing jobs to dodge the order, which usually just moves the garnishment to the next employer. Your employer cannot lawfully fire you because of a garnishment on a single judgment, and Labor Code section 2929 says so.
Bankruptcy and Other Ways Out of a Garnishment
Chapter 7 wipes out qualifying unsecured debt such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans, and most cases finish in roughly four months. Eligibility turns on the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for your household size and then accounts for actual expenses. California does not use the federal exemption list; filers choose between two state systems for the entire case, and one requires that you have lived in California for at least 730 days. One system favors homeowners with a large homestead exemption, while the other offers a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. Picking the wrong system can cost a filer property, so it is a decision for an attorney, not a form.
Chapter 13 fits people with steady income who need structure. Your debts are reorganized into one monthly payment over three to five years, and creditors are bound by the confirmed plan. It also reaches debts Chapter 7 cannot, like priority tax debt and arrears, and it can protect equity beyond exemption limits. Outside bankruptcy, the firm can negotiate directly with the creditor to settle for less than you owe, which sometimes persuades a creditor to release the garnishment in exchange for a lump sum or a structured payoff. If a collector broke the rules in getting there, California’s Rosenthal Act lets a consumer recover actual damages, an additional $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, and attorney fees. The Act reaches original creditors as well as collection agencies, but suits must be brought within one year.
Granada Hills Wage Garnishment Questions, Answered
Can my employer fire me because of a garnishment?
Not for a single judgment. California Labor Code section 2929 prohibits termination because of a garnishment on one judgment. Multiple garnishments or other protected-status issues can raise different questions, so talk to an attorney if your job is threatened.
How fast does bankruptcy stop a garnishment?
The automatic stay takes effect when the petition is filed. After that, creditors must stop collection, and we send notice so your employer’s payroll department stops withholding. When a garnishment is already underway, we can often prepare and file quickly.
Can the creditor take my entire paycheck?
No. For ordinary consumer judgments, the cap is the lesser of 20 percent of weekly disposable earnings or 40 percent of the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the applicable minimum wage. Different rules govern support orders and tax levies.
What if I was never served with the lawsuit?
That can be grounds to ask the court to set aside the default judgment, which would undo the garnishment. It depends on how and whether service was made and how quickly you act once you learn of the case.
Is the debt too old for them to sue?
Possibly. Written-contract debts carry a four-year limitations period and oral-contract debts two years. But the defense must be raised in a written answer, and a time-barred debt is not revived by a payment, only by a signed written acknowledgment.
Can I ask the court to reduce the garnishment?
Yes. You can claim an exemption for the portion of earnings necessary to support yourself and your family, supported by a financial statement. It is not automatic, and the creditor may oppose it.
Does my bank account get hit too?
It can. A creditor with a judgment may levy a bank account. A set amount per debtor is automatically protected without a claim of exemption, though that protection does not apply to levies for wages owed to another, support, or debts owed to the state.
My judgment is ten years old. Is it still enforceable?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and a creditor can renew it. Recent law limits renewal to one time, for five years, for medical judgments and certain smaller personal debt judgments. Whether yours was renewed properly is worth checking.
If I file bankruptcy, will my employer know?
Not automatically. They may learn if the creditor is your employer, if a garnishment must stop, or if Chapter 13 payments come out of your paycheck. California and federal law bar firing you solely for filing.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the garnishment is small?
Often yes. Garnishments continue until the judgment is paid, and interest can keep the balance growing. A lawyer can tell you whether the garnishment is calculated correctly, whether the judgment is vulnerable, and whether bankruptcy would end it for good.
Can I handle this without coming into an office?
Yes. We work with clients by phone, email, video, and online chat, and can complete the entire case remotely if you prefer.
Wage Garnishment Representation Across Granada Hills and the San Fernando Valley
We help clients in Granada Hills and the surrounding northwest Valley, including Northridge, Mission Hills, North Hills, Sylmar, San Fernando, and Reseda. From there, our attorneys work with people throughout the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, including Encino, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood, Hollywood, and Santa Monica, and with residents of Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
Across Los Angeles County the firm also serves Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. In the Inland Empire and eastern San Gabriel Valley, clients come from Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Riverside, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, and the Coachella Valley. In Orange County, we represent clients in 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 a Granada Hills Wage Garnishment Attorney Today
Every pay period a garnishment runs is money leaving your household that may be recoverable or avoidable. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and speak directly with a Granada Hills wage garnishment attorney who will look at your judgment, your paycheck, and your options inside and outside bankruptcy, and tell you plainly which path ends the garnishment. You can handle your entire case remotely if that is easier.
