Most people learn about a garnishment on payday. The deposit is short, payroll explains that a court order arrived, and the only warning was a notice that may have gone to an old address. Filing bankruptcy stops the withholding, and it stops it fast, because federal law imposes an automatic stay the moment a petition is filed. No hearing, no waiting period, no negotiation with the creditor. The Rossback Firm handles bankruptcy matters from downtown Aberdeen, and a garnished paycheck is one of the most common reasons people call.
How much of my paycheck can a creditor take in Washington?
For consumer debt, Washington protects the greater of 80 percent of your disposable earnings or 35 times the state minimum hourly wage each week. That formula comes from RCW 6.27.150. Disposable earnings means what remains after deductions the law requires, such as taxes and Social Security, not what remains after rent, groceries, and a car payment.
Washington’s minimum wage is $17.13 an hour in 2026, which puts the weekly protected floor at $599.55. Someone with $700 in weekly disposable earnings keeps $599.55 and loses just over $100 a week to the creditor. Someone earning $1,200 a week keeps 80 percent, since that number is higher than the floor, and gives up $240.
Not every debt gets that treatment. The 80 percent rule applies to debt incurred for personal, family, or household purposes. A business judgment falls into the residual category, where only 75 percent of disposable earnings or 35 times the federal minimum wage is protected. Private student loan judgments have their own formula at 85 percent or 50 times the highest minimum hourly wage in effect anywhere in the state.
How long will the garnishment keep taking money?
A writ issued for a continuing lien on earnings captures wages through the last payroll period ending on or before 60 days after the writ takes effect, under RCW 6.27.350. It also ends early if the judgment is paid in full, vacated, or satisfied.
The 60 days rarely end the problem. Nothing prevents the creditor from serving a fresh writ once the first expires, and a Washington judgment stays enforceable for 10 years under RCW 6.17.020, with the option to extend it for another 10. A $9,000 credit card judgment against someone losing $100 a week can grind on for years while post-judgment interest keeps running.
There is a narrow procedural option short of bankruptcy. If the creditor is taking more than the law allows, or the money being seized is exempt income like Social Security or workers’ compensation, you can file an exemption claim with the clerk of the court. RCW 6.27.140 sets that deadline at 28 days from the date printed on the writ, not the date you received it, which is why so many people miss it.
When does the automatic stay actually stop the withholding?
The stay takes effect the second the petition is accepted by the clerk, under 11 U.S.C. section 362. It is automatic in the literal sense. A judge does not have to sign anything, and the creditor does not have to agree.
Getting the money to stop moving is a practical matter of notice. Once a case number exists, the creditor, the creditor’s attorney, and your employer’s payroll department all need to be told, usually the same day. Payroll stops withholding at the next run, and funds a garnishee is still holding but has not yet turned over to the court typically come back to you. A creditor who keeps collecting after learning of the filing is violating the stay and can be held responsible for the damages that follow.
Washington adds a protection worth knowing about while this plays out. Under RCW 6.27.170, an employer cannot fire you because your wages were garnished. That shield disappears only after three or more separate debts have each triggered a garnishment served on the same employer within any 12 month span.
Can I recover wages that were already taken?
Sometimes, the window is short. Money withheld from your pay in the 90 days before filing may be recoverable as a preferential transfer when the total exceeds the $600 threshold that applies in consumer cases under 11 U.S.C. section 547, provided those wages would have been protected by an exemption. A creditor that pulled $1,800 out of your checks over two months is a very different conversation than one that pulled $300.
This is one reason timing matters more than people expect. Filing before the next payroll cycle, rather than after, frequently decides whether that month’s wages stay in your pocket.
Which garnishments does bankruptcy not stop?
The stay is broad but not universal. Withholding for child support and spousal maintenance continues, and those obligations survive a discharge. Criminal fines and restitution ordered in a criminal case are not wiped out either. Most tax debt from recent years and the majority of student loan balances also carry through.
That matters for anyone weighing a filing against multiple pressures at once. Bankruptcy is an effective answer to credit cards, medical bills, repossession deficiencies, old utility accounts, and personal loans. It is a poor answer to a support arrearage.
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 for a garnishment problem?
Chapter 7 discharges qualifying unsecured debt outright, and most cases reach discharge roughly four months after filing. It fits someone whose income falls under the means test and whose property is covered by exemptions.
Chapter 13 reorganizes debt into a three to five year plan and suits a different situation: mortgage arrears you want to cure, income above the Chapter 7 line, or equity in a home or vehicle that exemptions do not fully cover. Washington filers may choose between the state exemption scheme in RCW 6.15 and the federal set, and that choice can change the outcome significantly. Washington’s homestead exemption under RCW 6.13.030 is tied to the median sale price of a single family home in the county during the prior calendar year, so it looks different in Grays Harbor County than it does in the Puget Sound counties.
Court filing fees are set nationally at $338 for Chapter 7 and $313 for Chapter 13 according to the federal judiciary’s fee schedule. Chapter 7 filers under 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines can request a waiver, and installment payments are available. Credit counseling from an approved provider is required within the 180 days before filing. Cases from Grays Harbor County are heard in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington, Tacoma division.
Getting the garnishment to stop
A garnishment is a symptom of a judgment that is not going away on its own, and waiting out one 60 day writ rarely accomplishes anything except losing another two months of wages. If your pay is being withheld and the arithmetic no longer works, a conversation about whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 fits your income and property is the productive next step. The Rossback Firm meets with people across Grays Harbor County to review the judgment, calculate what the law actually protects, and lay out realistic options. Consultations for bankruptcy matters are available, and reaching out before the next payday is usually worth more than reaching out after it.