Part 2—How to Stop Garnishment
Part 3—Claiming Garnishment Exemptions
Part 4—Wrongful Garnishment

What is garnishment?

Debt collectors are allowed to garnish a consumer's bank account and wages to recover unpaid debts. Although the law permits garnishment before the entry of judgment, the majority of garnishment in Minnesota occurs after a court judgment has been entered. The law provides strict procedures that a collector must follow and if they mess up the process, their garnishment may be wrongful.

Bank Garnishment Basics

To initiate a bank garnishment in Minnesota, a debt collector first sends a garnishment summons to the bank. The bank is required to seize all funds in the consumer's bank account on the day they process the garnishment summons. Consumers do not get notice of the garnishment until after the funds have been seized, which unfortunately can result in bounced checks and overdraft fees.

Wage garnishment basics

A wage garnishment is initiated by first sending a notice of intent to garnish to the consumer. The debt collector must then wait 10 days before sending a garnishment summons to the consumer's employer. Upon receipt of the garnishment summons, an employer must seize 25% of the consumer's after tax earnings for each pay period until the debt is satisfied.

Part 2—How to Stop Garnishment
Part 3—Claiming Garnishment Exemptions
Part 4—Wrongful Garnishment

Ready to talk to a lawyer about garnishment?
Schedule a consult with debt defense lawyer Todd Murray.

Since 2009, Todd has helped hundreds of Minnesotans defend garnishments. His work has saved his clients millions of dollars (and many sleepless nights) in the process. Todd’s clients have described him as “very professional and easy to work with.” He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and four children.