• In Minnesota, creditors can garnish up to 25 percent of net wages towards loan repayments.education equals earning potential image by Jan Beltz from Fotolia.com
  
  Creditors can garnish your wages to pay off your student loans. You are responsible for repaying student loans even if you quit school, can't find a job or are not satisfied with the education you received. If the lender wants to garnish your wages towards your student loan payments, they have to follow certain procedures in Minnesota.
  
  

Court Judgment

• If a creditor wants to garnish your wages towards your student loan payments, it will have to get a court judgment first. You will get an exemption notice from the court at least 10 days before the garnishment can begin, asking if you can claim any exemption against such garnishment. You can claim an exemption from garnishment if, in the last six months, you received any public assistance based on need or were released from prison.
  
  

Garnishment Process

• If you don't claim any exemption, the creditor can get paid a part of your paycheck for the next 70 days. Your employer will withhold the money from your paycheck. You will keep only 75 percent of your net wages, or 40 times the minimum wage, whichever is higher. The rest of your wages can be garnished towards your student loan payments. Net wages includes your regular pay, your overtime and your sick pay, less any withholding the law requires. Under Minnesota law, an employer cannot fire you for garnishments, regardless of how many times they occur.
  
  

Avoiding Garnishment

• One basic way of avoiding garnishment is to make your student loan payments as they come due. If you cannot pay on time, contact your lender to work out a payment schedule. Garnishment costs lenders too and they may be willing to work with you. Also, since the lender has to go through a court process before garnishing your wages towards student loan payments, you can avoid garnishment by taking the necessary steps to fight the lawsuit.