Garnishment

• Garnishment is a debt collection method for individuals possessing money judgments. In a garnishment proceeding, the parties are your creditor and the person who holds property that rightfully belongs to you. When a creditor is garnishing your wages, the person holding your property is your employer. In Georgia, if your employer fails to respond to a garnishment request, your employer can become personally liable.
  
  

Affidavit of Garnishment

• In Georgia, your child's custodial parent must file an "Affidavit of Garnishment" with the court to garnish your wages. The affidavit must, at least, truthfully reflect how much you owe, the existence of a money judgment and the name of the court that issued the judgment.
  
  

Traverse

• In Georgia, the child support garnishment process may take a bit longer if you file a traverse. A traverse is an action where you assert that something in the affidavit of garnishment is false. If, for example, the affidavit states you're behind $1,000, but you're only behind $500, you have a basis to file a traverse. The absence of a money judgment also constitutes a basis for a traverse. The court generally will set a hearing on the matter within 10-days of the date you file the traverse.
  
  

Money Judgment

• Most creditors have to first sue you and win before they can obtain the money judgment needed to garnish your wages. Generally, however, this isn't the case for custodial parents with child support orders. In Georgia, a child support order that details specific installments you must pay at specific times, has the same effect and force of a money judgment. Accordingly, your child's custodial parent may bypass suing you and use the child support order to initiate garnishment proceedings.
  
  

Exception

• Child support orders generally constitute money judgments. However, if the child support order is for something non-specific or variable, such as healthcare costs, the child support order likely will not constitute a money judgment. Your child's custodial parent will likely have to go to court and obtain a money judgment specifying the exact amount you must pay. While the proceeding for the money judgment is pending, your child's custodial parent may get a head start on the garnishment proceeding if she can prove special circumstances exist. One circumstance is if you plan to skip town or already live outside of Georgia. Note, however, that the judgment proceeding must be pending at the time.
  
  

Disclaimer

• This article is not legal advice, so consult a Georgia attorney if that's what you seek.