Wage garnishment in Nebraska

Most a card or medical judgment can take

25% of take-home pay or the part above $217.50 a week if lesssource

If you are a head of family

15% of take-home pay at mostsource

Time to request a hearing

3 business days after you receive the noticesource

Hearing date

Within 10 days of your requestsource

Garnishment laws in Nebraska: 25% or 15% for a family

Nebraska Revised Statutes section 25-1558 sets three limits and the lowest one wins: 25% of your disposable earnings for the week, the part above 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50) or 15% if you are the head of a family. Disposable earnings are the pay left after deductions required by law.

A head of family, in this law, is someone who actually supports at least one relative by blood, marriage, adoption or guardianship. With $800 a week of take-home pay, a single worker can lose $200, while a parent supporting a child can lose only $120. The statute also says these exemptions are granted without any further court proceedings.

What papers come with a Nebraska garnishment

Your employer is served with a summons and order of garnishment, written questions called interrogatories, a notice to judgment debtor and a request for hearing form. Under section 25-1011, the creditor must also mail you copies by certified mail within 7 business days after the court issues them.

Your employer pays you the exempt part of each check and holds the rest. If there is no successful objection, the court can turn the garnishment into a continuing lien that repeats every payday. Section 25-1056 ends that lien when the judgment is paid or expires, the creditor releases it, a court such as bankruptcy court stays it or you are off that job for more than 60 days.

How to stop wage garnishment in Nebraska: the 3-day hearing request

Fill out the request for hearing form that came with your papers and file it with the court within 3 business days after you receive the notice to judgment debtor. A hearing is available if the money is exempt or the amount claimed is not really owed on the judgment. The court must hold it within 10 days of your request.

The Nebraska Judicial Branch self-help center lists county and district court clerk contacts. People without a lawyer can file in person, by mail or by fax with the court’s cover sheet, but not by email. With only 3 business days, a quick call lets a garnishment specialist go over the notice and your hearing form with you.

Can my bank account be garnished in Nebraska?

Yes. When a bank is served, it holds the account money it had at the time of service, up to the judgment amount, until the court rules. The notice to judgment debtor must tell you that funds from certain government benefits and other sources are exempt.

Each Nebraska resident can also protect $5,000 in personal property under section 25-1552, a figure the Department of Revenue adjusts every fifth year. You claim it by filing a list of everything you own, with values, at the same time as your request for hearing. Legal Aid of Nebraska names wage garnishment among the debt problems it helps with.