Different states have different laws about garnished wages. For example, in Texas they cannot garnish your wages.

Generally speaking most states will allow your wages to be garnished up to 25%. However, that is usually not the case if you are making minimum wage or a very low wage or if you are the bread winner for a large family.

Yes you can have a lawsuit filed against you even if you don't have any assets. You can't have a lawsuit filed against you if you are in bankruptcy though.

The only times that people can garnish your wages without taking you to court first are for child support, taxes, and/or student loans.

On an interesting note, if you owed money to a bank (say on a loan) and you stopped paying, the bank could dip into your account and take that money without your permission. Also if you give a creditor account access they could take more than they were given permission to take. So be very very very careful with that.

To answer your question though, debt collectors cannot take your money without first taking you to court.
Source(s):
I'm a financial adviser
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/garnish.htm

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