If you have been having trouble paying off your student loans you should look to the future and work to pay off these loans before your wages are garnished. In today's ever changing economy, it is hard enough for the average working individual to make ends meet.

When you add wage garnishment onto that and supporting a family, it can be especially difficult. Sometimes living paycheck to paycheck with the regular bills and sudden unexpected expenses is hard enough without having an old student loan debt to stress about.

Borrowers who have not made voluntary and timely payments to the institution from whom a loan was received, may face a wage garnishment through their current employer.

The government can garnish your wages without first getting a judgment in court. If they garnish your wages it will be a total of 15% of disposable pay that legally may be garnished.

But keep in mind that no matter what, you can keep an amount equal to 30 times the minimum wage. The minimum wage in the United States since July 24, 2009 is $7.25/hour.

Under the Higher Education Act, the Department of Education and security agencies can require employers to deduct a minimum of 10% of the indebted employee's pay check each pay period toward the repayment of the debt.

Depending on the situation, this wage garnishment may continue until the entire balance of the outstanding debt is paid. This method of wage garnishment is used only for the borrowers who refuse to voluntarily repay their defaulted loan.

However, the borrowers who continue to make regular and timely payments do not have to deal with wage garnishment. Employers who have received an Order for Withholding of Wages, must conform to the order by law.

The employers will only receive information that is necessary to conform with the wage garnishing order. The employers are prohibited from discharging the borrower from employment or subjecting the individual to disciplinary action due to their wage garnishment.

Any individual who is discharged from their job or disciplined is allowed to seek restitution in federal or state court if such action occurs. Administrative Wage Garnishment is a tool of last resort used by the U.S. Department of Education to recover defaulted student loans.

If your wages are going to be garnished you will receive a notice thirty days prior to the issuance of the Order of Withholding. It will notify you that the Department of Education intends on garnishing wages and will make the borrower's rights and appeal procedures clear.

To avoid wage garnishments, the borrower has an opportunity to enter into a written agreement under terms agreeable to Department of Education to establish a voluntary repayment arrangement. This is probably the simplest way to deal with wage garnishment.

However, if the borrower has any objections to the existence or amount of the debt, a hearing can be arranged to present and obtain a ruling.

If there is any objection that wage garnishment of the borrowers disposable pay would produce an extreme financial hardship a wage garnishment action can be withheld by filing a timely request for a hearing.

If this is done, no action towards wage garnishment will be made until the hearing is completed and a decision is issued. Borrowers may also object to a wage garnishment if the validity of the claim is in question or if the current method of enforcing the claim is barred by law.

The borrower is responsible for providing documentation or evidence to establish any objections that are raised in defense to the enforcement of the debt. If this is the case, it would be in your best interest to learn all you can about garnishment law.

If you are having challenges with paying your student loan, there is help with nonprofit organizations such as American Student Assistance. They offer outreach and education for students, loan repayment counseling, budget planning, information on repayment options, and even help for borrowers who have defaulted on their loans.

If you are or will be facing wage garnishment, then you might want to seek professional help. A professional can lead you with their experience to make the best out of this tough situation. They will also be able to give you advice on the best steps to take.

Being a student is a good thing but having a large amount of debt is not. Try to get out of debt as fast as you can. Make the necessary plans to make it happen and you hopefully will never have to deal with wage garnishment.