I Live In Louisiana! What Does A Creditor Have To Do To Garnish My Wages?

Garnishment is a process where a creditor gets paid the money it is owed from a debtor.  Often, the garnishment is of the debtor’s wages.

Louisiana is a judicial garnishment state, meaning that in order for a creditor to collect money from a third party such as an employer, it must first go in to court and get a judge to make a legal finding that the money is owed by the debtor.

Once a judgment is obtained by a creditor, the court clerk’s office will issue a writ known as a writ of fieri facias (an order to a sheriff to execute on a judgment).

The sheriff then serves upon the employer a series of questions (known as interrogatories), together with a notice that the wages of the debtor are being seized. is thereby effected against any property of or indebtedness to the judgment debtor.  The employer has fifteen days to answers to the interrogatories within fifteen days from the date of service, subject to the risk that a creditor can file a motion with the court to have it found that the employer has the entire amount due under the judgment in its possession.

The filing of a bankruptcy acts to stop a garnishment from continuing.  Often, an employer will alert you in advance that a garnishment has been served, giving you the opportunity to see an attorney and file a bankruptcy in time in time to stop the garnishment before it starts.

Consider consulting an experienced bankruptcy attorney such as the attorneys of the Bankruptcy Law Network to help you with your debt problems.