Spousal Support

• Spousal support, or maintenance, is a payment made by one ex-spouse to another. The amount is typically ordered by the court and is paid on a periodic basis, such as monthly. Maintenance is a means of giving a spouse who may have been out of the workforce during the marriage, or who earns significantly less than the other spouse, financial support for a set period of time while she finds employment and adjusts to living on a drastically reduced income.
  
  

Garnishment

• When you owe a creditor money and they are unable to collect the money directly from you, they have the option of asking the court to garnish your income. You are given notice that a garnishment is pending. You have the opportunity to ask the court to reduce the garnishment or not to garnish your income. You can also settle with the creditor at this point and still avoid a garnishment. While garnishments are typically against wages, they can be against bank accounts and other forms of income, such as spousal support.
  
  

Support Garnishment

• Your spousal support may or may not be garnished directly. The decision depends on what state you live in. States like New York prohibit the garnishment of both child and spousal support, while states like Maryland do not. If your support cannot be garnished directly, it may still be garnished indirectly. If your creditor can locate your bank accounts, they can ask the court for permission to garnish those. If they receive permission, the bank is required by law to turn over account funds to the creditor. They will not determine whether the funds are support payments, wages or gifts.
  
  

Avoidance

• The best solution when it comes to a garnishment is to avoid one. Obviously, if you could pay your bills, you would, but before you give up on trying to keep your case out of court, communicate with your creditors and explain your situation. Many creditors will work with you to set up payment arrangements or to settle the account for less than the full amount. They do not want to go through the court system to garnish your income anymore than you want them to.