Garnishment | Meaning and Definition

What is Garnishment?

Garnishment, or in other words, wage garnishment, can be described as being referred to legally with money as it is being legally withheld from a paycheck that belongs to an employee and then given to another employee. Usually, the reason why garnishment is done is to clear off and payout debts that have remained to be long overdue. These debts can also include taxes that are unpaid. The truck full of dues is also bound to have defaulted student loans, alimony, child support payments, and loads of other monetary fines. 

One of the most common and frequently asked questions by people who are not really aware of the whole thing is – what does it actually mean to be garnished? 

“To be garnished” – actually means the money which was withheld from the paycheck of a certain employee. Let us make it more easily understandable by taking an example. A typical case of garnishing includes three parties or sides. These three sides are known as the garnishor; one who is known as the creditor, responsible for taking money; the garnishee, one who is responsible for receiving the money and most importantly, the debtor. A garnishor is usually painted as a plaintiff representative of the garnishee or, in other cases, their organization. The garnishor will receive a court order and will be requested to inform the debtor’s employers and let them know when the paycheck needs to be garnished. 

Another frequently asked question is – Whether one can stop a Garnishment once it starts? For needing to stop the wage garnishment for processing in its entirety, the debtor will either need to object to it in court or continue the process of negotiation with the creditor, or as a last resort file bankruptcy.