The economy has been tough for many Tennessee residents. If you are having trouble meeting all your financial obligations, then you may face a variety of consequences. In many cases, creditors will take action to collect on the debts that they are owed. While some creditors may resort to harassment to collect on a particular debt, other creditors will use legal methods to get the money. Depending on the type of debt different options may be available to creditors. In some cases, repossession might be possible. In others, creditors will seek to garnish your wages.

A wage garnishment occurs after a creditor receives a judgment on a particular debt. If the judgment is not paid, then the creditor can ask for permission to take part of your wages until the debt is satisfied. However, there is a series of complicated rules that must be followed in order for a creditor to legally garnish your wages. These include notice requirements and limits on the amount of money that a creditor can take.

Under section 26-2-106 of the Tennessee Code Annotated, a creditor can only garnish a certain amount of money from a Tennessee resident. Under this section a wage garnishment cannot exceed the amount of your weekly disposable income that exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage at the time your paycheck is due or 25 percent of your disposable income for the week. Whichever amount is less is the maximum amount that can be taken. Furthermore, under section 26-2-106(b), these limitations apply even when people are not paid weekly.

Since this formula considers factors that are unique to you, this blog post cannot provide specific legal advice. However, by speaking with a qualified attorney you can get answers about wage garnishment and how to stop it.