What is happening to you, in plain terms
A wage garnishment means a creditor with a court judgment is taking part of your pay directly from your employer, every payday. A bank levy means the creditor reached into your bank account and froze money there.
Both usually follow a judgment — often a default judgment from a lawsuit you may not even remember, or never knew about. The garnishment is not the end of the story. It is a legal process, and legal processes have rules, limits, and ways to push back.
What we do about it
- Claim of exemption. California lets you protect wages and bank funds you need for basic living costs. We prepare and file the claim and argue it if the creditor objects.
- Protected money. Some money can generally not be taken at all — Social Security, SSI, disability, unemployment, and certain public benefits. A baseline amount in your bank account is automatically protected, too. We fight to get protected money released.
- Attack the judgment. If you were never properly served with the original lawsuit, the judgment behind the garnishment may be vulnerable. Set the judgment aside and the garnishment stops with it.
- Check the math. California caps how much of your pay can be garnished. Employers and collectors get the formula wrong. We check it.
Talk to a California debt defense lawyer
Bring us your garnishment or levy paperwork today. The sooner we see it, the more of your money we may be able to protect.
Get Your Free Case ReviewIf your bank account was frozen
A levy moves fast, but the money usually does not leave your account immediately — there is a short window to act. If your account holds Social Security, disability, or other protected funds, or money you need for rent and food, you may be able to get some or all of it back.
The forms and the deadlines are strict, and the window can be as short as a couple of weeks. Do not wait to see what happens. Read our plain-language guide to the claim of exemption, then talk to us.
Every payday matters
A garnishment does not pause while you think it over. Every check that passes is money gone. The sooner a claim of exemption or a challenge to the judgment is filed, the sooner the taking can slow or stop.
Bring us your garnishment paperwork — the earnings withholding order, the levy notice, anything from the sheriff or your employer. We will tell you quickly — often the same day — what your options look like.
Common questions
How much of my paycheck can they take in California?
California limits garnishment to a portion of your disposable earnings — the exact amount depends on your pay and the state formula, and low earners are heavily protected. If you support a family on your check, a claim of exemption can reduce the garnishment further, sometimes to zero.
Can they take my Social Security or disability?
Social Security, SSI, and most disability and public benefits are generally protected from garnishment for consumer debts. If protected money was frozen in your bank account, act quickly — it can often be recovered, but deadlines are short.
The judgment came from a case I never knew about. Is that fixable?
Sometimes, yes. If you were never properly served, California courts can set the judgment aside — which stops the garnishment built on it. Timing rules apply, so move fast.
