Stage guide

After the judgment: the exemption map nobody hands you

A judgment is not a blank check. Federal and state law fence off parts of your income and accounts — but the fences are made of paperwork. In studied California courts, only about 3% of garnished defendants claimed exemptions they already held. The money was protected; the claim form was never filed.

Stage 1First letterThe 30-day window opens
Stage 2Calls & contactKnow the call rules
Stage 3The decision pointWeigh any offer with real math
Stage 4SuedYour answer deadline is running
Stage 5JudgmentThrow it out? Protect what's yours? Both have deadlines
Stage 6GarnishmentClaim what is protected
Stage 7Time-barred tailOld debt, new traps

Paychecks: three kinds of states

Four states effectively ban paycheck garnishment for credit-card judgments: Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina. A second group caps it below the federal line — California takes at most 20% with a minimum-wage shield, New York 10% of gross, Illinois 15% with a pay floor. The rest follow the federal cap: the smaller of 25% of take-home pay or the amount above $217.50 a week. Your state page prints your rule with the law cited.

Bank accounts: the federal shield plus your state's

If federal benefits (Social Security, VA, federal retirement) are direct-deposited, your bank must automatically protect two months' worth in that account when a levy arrives — 31 CFR Part 212. Beyond that, state law governs: Pennsylvania shields the first $10,000 in accounts fed by exempt-benefit deposits; other states protect set amounts or specific benefit types. Money loses protection when it is moved or mixed — the kit's exemption pack walks the account hygiene that keeps the shield intact.

You have to claim these protections — nobody grants them automatically

Every protection on this page has the same fine print: a claim form, filed with the court or the bank, by a deadline. Courts do not check garnishments for you. If money is being taken now, filing the claim of exemption is the one move this week — your state page and the kit both start there.

'Judgment-proof' is a description, not a status

If everything you have is exempt, collectors often stop spending money pursuing you — but no paper certifies it, judgments in most states live 10–20 years and can be renewed, and a change in income changes the math. Treat the map as protection to maintain, not a verdict to frame.

Included in the $39 DebtDecoded Kit

  • The letter builder — answer a few questions and it writes your letters: the one that makes them prove the debt is yours, and the one that orders them to stop calling. Wording follows the federal rulebook (Regulation F). Ready to print and mail
  • The old-debt trap worksheet — checks your dates against your state's restart rule before you pay or sign anything, so one small payment can't quietly restart the clock on an old debt (the trap lawyers call 'revival')
  • The call log — counts their calls against the legal line: more than 7 calls in 7 days about one debt counts as harassment (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2))
  • The 'what they can't take' pack — what a court judgment can and cannot take in your state, including the rule that shields two months of federal benefits sitting in your bank account (31 CFR Part 212)
  • The offer-math worksheet — what a 'deal' really costs once fees and the tax on the written-off part are counted (that tax shows up on Form 1099-C)
  • The complaint walkthrough and the honest directory — who to call instead when a free or better route fits you

One payment. Every stage of the road, and the deadline tables for all 50 states — every number with its law cited. No account, no subscription — and the free checker above stays free whether you buy or not.

Get the Kit — $39

DebtDecoded is education, not a law firm. If the checker points you to a free route — legal aid, a lawyer who fights debt collectors, a nonprofit counselor — take it. We would rather lose the sale than sell you the wrong tool.

Quick answers

Can they take my car or my house?

Vehicle and homestead exemptions are state-specific and separate from the wage/levy rules summarized here; judgment liens on real estate work differently state by state. That depth is in the kit's exemption pack, sourced per state.

The judgment was entered without me knowing. Now what?

Judgments entered after improper service can often be challenged by a motion to vacate — with its own deadline. Court self-help centers and legal aid handle these daily; the routing in the decoder points you there.

Run the free checker