If you receive federal benefits and you are also facing debts, a creditor or debt collector may attempt to garnish your wages by lifting money from your bank account to repay your debts. The court order is known as a garnishment, and must be obtained legally through a case in the courtroom with a judge. If your income is based on federal benefits, rest assured that in most cases, the creditors cannot garnish these wages. You should be able to protect your federal funds, but you may need to go to court to do so. One way to halt all garnishments is to simply file for bankruptcy. At that point, all of your funds will be protected by automatic stay. This allows you to organize your finances or liquidate assets without creditors filing lawsuits or taking action.

The Federal Trade Commission is the nation's consumer protection agency and has created a list of federal benefits that should be exempt from garnishment by creditors.

These include:

• Social Security Benefits
• Supplemental Security Income Benefits
• Merchant Seamen Wages
• Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Death and Disability Benefits
• Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance
• Veteran's Benefits
• Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
• Student Assistance
• Railroad Retirement Benefits
• Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits

While these different benefits are generally exempt, there are situations where they are permitted for garnishment. If you have a tax debt or a student loan debt, then the federal benefits can be garnished to pay these costs. Also, if you have a child support or alimony debt following divorce, your ex-spouse can request garnishment of your benefits to cover the agreed-upon payments.

If you receive notice that your bank account will be garnished, and you have exempt wages in the account, you need to contact a skilled attorney immediately. A bankruptcy attorney understands debt law and can help you to take the appropriate legal action to prevent this garnishment. Follow any instructions in a garnishment notice that you receive and make sure to get a local bankruptcy lawyer involved in your case as soon as possible.