Earnings Garnishment
You may file an earnings garnishment only after a Court Official has awarded you a money judgment. It is a way to collect the money that was awarded to you by having it taken from the person’s earnings, most commonly a paycheck. Earnings that can be garnished include compensation for personal services, including wages, salary, commission, bonuses, and periodic payments from a pension or retirement program.
Small claims earnings garnishments to recover judgments totaling $10,000 or less are typically filed in the county where the original judgment was entered. You may also file your garnishment in any county in which you have filed a transcript of the original judgment.
There are three parties to a garnishment lawsuit.
- Creditor: You, person who wants to receive the court-ordered payment.
- Debtor: Person who has been ordered to pay the money, or his/her spouse, if the earnings are marital property.
- Garnishee: Person or entity who will be making a payment or owes money to the debtor, typically an employer.
You may not have more than one garnishment running on a debtor per employer/garnishee. The garnishee may also only honor one garnishment at a time per debtor, although there may be other levies (deductions for support or unpaid state or federal taxes). If a garnishee receives more than one garnishment for a debtor, the first garnishment received takes priority. In other words, you may have to wait your turn.
Note: It is strongly recommended that you review the forms in the packet to get an understanding of the directions and options that the debtor and garnishee will have once you serve them with the documents. You may also refer to Wisconsin Statute 812 for more information.
