Question from Member: Wage Deduction Orders

A Committee Member writes the following:

I am representing a debtor who is in the process of filing a Chapter 7. We plan on filing it by the end of the March. In the meantime, a default judgment was entered against him on Feb 3, 2005. Thereafter, the debtor and his employer received a "Wage Deduction Notice" with an "Affidavit for Wage Deduction Order" attached to it. Both have a return date of April 7, 2005. My question: Is an "Affidavit for Wage Deduction Order" the same as a "Wage Deduction Order"? Is the debtor's employer allowed to garnish his wages prior to the return date specified? If not, I assume we can demand the employer to return the monies garnished back to the Debtor.

I have given my opinion to the inquiring party, so now it's time to open it up to the memberhsip. If you have any thoughts please e-mail me at mhedayat@mha-law.com and I will pass on your pearls of wisdom accordingly.

And as always, thank you for playing Bankruptcy Jeopardy. Please remember to phrase your answer in the form of a question.