How to Stop Wage Garnishment in Louisiana (4 Ways That Work)

Louisiana wage garnishment laws hit harder than most states. A creditor with a judgment can seize up to 25% of your take-home pay until the debt is gone. That's $500 from a $2,000 monthly check, gone before you see it.

You have four ways to stop this: respond to the lawsuit before judgment, file an exemption claim after judgment, negotiate a settlement, or file bankruptcy. Which path works depends on your timeline and how much you owe.

Louisiana Wage Garnishment Rules: What They Can Take

Louisiana Revised Statute 13:3881 allows creditors to garnish the lesser of:

• 25% of your disposable weekly earnings
• The amount your weekly income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50 per week)

Disposable earnings means your paycheck after taxes and mandatory deductions. Not after rent or groceries. Just taxes.

If you earn $800 per week after taxes, a creditor can take $200 weekly. That's $867 per month. For a $5,000 debt, you're looking at six months of reduced paychecks.

Child support and student loans follow different rules and can take more. This article covers consumer debt: credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, and old utility bills.

They Can't Garnish Your Wages Without a Judgment

Creditors must sue you and win before touching your paycheck. The process goes like this:

Step 1: You miss payments for 90-180 days. The creditor or a collection agency files a lawsuit in Louisiana district court.

Step 2: You receive a Petition and Citation by certified mail or a process server. You have 15 days to file an Answer if served by the sheriff, or 30 days if served by mail.

Step 3: If you don't respond, the court grants a default judgment. The creditor now has a legal right to collect.

Step 4: The creditor files a Writ of Fieri Facias with the court. This document orders your employer to withhold wages.

Step 5: Your employer receives the writ and starts deducting money from your paycheck. They must comply within seven days.

The entire process takes 60-120 days from lawsuit to first garnished check. Once garnishment starts, it continues until the debt plus court costs and interest is paid.

How to Stop Garnishment Before It Starts

Your best defense happens early. Once that judgment hits, your options narrow.

File an Answer to the Lawsuit

This is your first and strongest move. An Answer is a legal document that tells the court you're contesting the debt. You don't need a lawyer to file one, though having one helps.

Your Answer should include:

• A general denial if you don't recognize the debt
• Affirmative defenses like statute of limitations (3 years in Louisiana for most consumer debts under La. Civ. Code Art. 3494)
• Specific denials if the amount is wrong or the creditor lacks documentation

File your Answer with the clerk of court in the parish where you were sued. Serve a copy to the plaintiff's attorney by certified mail. Keep your receipt.

Filing an Answer doesn't make the debt disappear. It forces the creditor to prove its case. Many collection lawsuits lack proper documentation. If the plaintiff can't produce a signed credit agreement or a detailed account statement, the judge may dismiss the case.

Negotiate a Settlement Before Judgment

Once you file an Answer, the creditor's attorney will often call to negotiate. They'd rather settle for 50-70% than drag this through discovery and trial.

Counter low. If you owe $4,000, offer $1,500 as a lump sum. They'll counter higher. You might land at $2,200 paid over three months. Get any agreement in writing before you pay a dollar.

The settlement must include:

• The exact amount you're paying
• The payment schedule
• A clause dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice (meaning they can't refile)
• A statement that this satisfies the debt in full

Never agree to a judgment "just in case" you miss payments. That's a trap. If they want security, they can take the settlement or see you in court.

How to Stop Garnishment After Judgment

Once the court enters a judgment, stopping garnishment gets harder. You're no longer fighting over whether you owe the money. You're fighting over how they collect it.

File a Claim of Exemption

Louisiana law exempts certain income from garnishment. If your only income is Social Security, SSI, veterans benefits, or unemployment, you can file a Claim of Exemption with the court.

You'll need to prove your income source. Bring three months of bank statements showing deposits from exempt sources. The court will hold a hearing. If the judge agrees your income is exempt, the garnishment stops.

This only works if your income is 100% from exempt sources. If you earn $1,200 from Social Security and $800 from a part-time job, they can garnish the $800 portion.

Negotiate a Payment Plan

Even after judgment, creditors will negotiate. They're getting 25% of your wages, but that might take 18 months. They'd rather have 60% in six months.

Call the creditor's attorney. Say: "I can pay $3,000 to settle this $5,000 judgment if you release the garnishment." They may agree. Get it in writing before you pay.

Some creditors won't budge. They have a judgment and a garnishment order. Why take less? If they refuse, move to option four.

File Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy stops wage garnishment the day you file. Not when your case is approved. The day you file.

The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 prohibits creditors from continuing any collection activity, including wage garnishment. Your employer must stop withholding money within 24-48 hours of receiving notice from the bankruptcy court.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy wipes out most consumer debts in 90-120 days. If you qualify (income below Louisiana's median or you pass the means test), you'll pay around $335 in filing fees plus attorney costs of $1,000-$1,500.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy stops garnishment and creates a 3-5 year repayment plan based on what you can afford. If you're behind on a car loan or mortgage, Chapter 13 lets you catch up while keeping your property.

Not sure which chapter fits your situation? Take our bankruptcy screener to see if you qualify for Chapter 7 or if Chapter 13 makes more sense.

What Happens to Money Already Garnished

If your wages were garnished before you filed bankruptcy, you might get that money back. Under Louisiana law, you can recover garnished wages if:

• The garnishment occurred within 90 days before your bankruptcy filing
• The total amount garnished exceeds $600
• You claim the funds as part of your bankruptcy estate

Your bankruptcy attorney can file a motion to recover preferential transfers. The court orders the creditor to return the money, which then goes to your bankruptcy trustee and may be redistributed to creditors or returned to you, depending on your case type.

If you settled the debt or filed an exemption claim, garnished wages stay with the creditor. You can't claw them back without bankruptcy.

Special Rules for Federal Benefits

Banks must protect federal benefits from garnishment under the Federal Payment Levy Program. If your account receives direct deposits of Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, or federal retirement, the bank must automatically protect two months' worth of deposits.

If your bank freezes an account containing federal benefits, file a Claim of Exemption immediately. Bring proof of the direct deposits. The freeze should lift within 10 business days.

This protection doesn't apply if you transfer federal benefits to another account or withdraw them as cash. Keep benefits in the account where they're deposited.

How Long Does Garnishment Last in Louisiana

Garnishment continues until the judgment is satisfied. That includes:

• The original debt amount
• Pre-judgment interest at the legal rate (Louisiana's legal interest rate is 5% per year or the rate specified in your contract)
• Court costs (typically $200-$500)
• Attorney fees if your original contract allowed them
• Post-judgment interest at 5% annually

A $5,000 debt can become $7,000 by the time garnishment ends. Run the numbers. If garnishment will take two years and cost you $7,000, but bankruptcy costs $1,500 and wipes it out in four months, the math is simple.

Can You Be Fired for Wage Garnishment?

Federal law under 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) prohibits employers from firing you for a single wage garnishment. If you have two or more active garnishments, you lose this protection.

Louisiana doesn't add extra protections beyond federal law. If you're dealing with multiple garnishments, your employer can legally terminate you. File bankruptcy before you reach that point.

Act Before They File the Garnishment Order

Once you know a judgment exists, you have maybe 30 days before the creditor files for garnishment. Use that time.

Pull a free copy of your credit report at annualcreditreport.com. Check for other charged-off debts. If you have $8,000 in old debts and one creditor just got a judgment, the others will follow. Stopping one garnishment doesn't fix the problem.

If your total unsecured debt exceeds $10,000 and you're facing multiple judgments, bankruptcy is likely your cleanest exit. You'll stop all current and future garnishments from consumer debts in one filing.

If you owe $3,000 to one creditor and everything else is current, negotiate hard. Offer 40% as a lump sum. They'll probably take it.

Getting Legal Help

You can handle debt lawsuits and exemption claims yourself. Courts have forms. Clerks will tell you where to file. But if you're confused by the paperwork or the creditor has an attorney, consider hiring a consumer rights lawyer.

Many consumer attorneys work on contingency for debt defense, meaning they get paid only if they win or settle favorably. Initial consultations are usually free.

For bankruptcy, an attorney is almost mandatory. Chapter 7 filers with attorneys have a 95% success rate. Pro se filers (representing themselves) fail more than half the time due to paperwork errors or missed deadlines.

Louisiana Legal Services provides free legal help if your income is below 125% of the federal poverty line. Call 1-800-310-7029 or visit louisianalegalservices.org.

The Bottom Line

Louisiana's 25% wage garnishment rate is brutal, but it's not inevitable. Respond to the lawsuit, negotiate before judgment, or file bankruptcy if the debt is overwhelming. The worst move is ignoring the problem until your paycheck is 25% lighter.