Immediate Crisis Intervention: Stopping Wage Garnishment

A wage garnishment can turn an already stressful financial situation into an immediate crisis. When a creditor starts taking money from your paycheck, it can quickly become harder to keep up with rent, utilities, groceries, and other essentials. Crawley Law Firm helps Arkansas families deal with garnishment before the problem grows worse.

Understanding the Limits

Arkansas wage garnishment rules can affect households very differently depending on income. For ordinary consumer debt, creditors are generally limited to taking the lesser of 25% of your disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour in 2026), which protects the first $217.50 of weekly disposable income.

Example 1: Weekly take-home: $1,200

• 25% rule: $300
• 30x rule: $1,200 – $217.50 = $982.50
  Result: Creditor takes $300/week ($1,200/month). That’s often the difference between staying current on a mortgage vs. falling behind.

Example 2: Weekly take-home: $500

• 25% rule: $125
• 30x rule: $500 – $217.50 = $282.50
  Result: Creditor takes $125/week ($500/month). While the dollar amount is lower, the impact is often more severe when every dollar already goes to rent, utilities, and groceries.

Why this matters: Whether you’re losing $300 or $125 per week, that’s income you need to survive. Crawley Law Firm doesn’t just help you “live with” garnishment — we work to stop it entirely through the automatic stay, often within 24-48 hours of filing.

The Fastest Legal Solution

One of the most effective ways to stop a garnishment is through bankruptcy. When a case is filed, the automatic stay immediately stops creditors from collecting debts, garnishing wages, or pursuing foreclosures and repossessions. Crawley Law Firm can file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 cases depending on which option fits the situation best.

Can You Get Money Back?

In some situations, funds taken shortly before a bankruptcy filing may be recoverable, depending on the facts of the case. Crawley Law Firm can review whether any of those funds may be addressed as part of the bankruptcy process.

What To Do Next

If a garnishment is making it hard to cover the basics, it is important to act quickly. Crawley Law Firm can help you look at your options and determine whether bankruptcy may provide the protection and breathing room you need.