What does this mean about garnishment in NC?

Question

WAGE GARNISHMENT EXEMPTION: All of last 60 days earnings needed for family's support; garnishments not granted to general creditors (only for government services and taxes)

MAXIMUM INTEREST RATE: Legal: 8% Judgment: 8%

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON ENFORCEMENT:

Open Account (credit card): 3 years

Sale of Goods: 4 years

Written Contract: 3 years

Domestic Judgment: 10 years

Foreign Judgment: 10 years

Let's say I am behind on a credit card/credit line bill..how would this apply to me? I'm so confused!!

Answer 1

The Statute of Limitations is the Period of Time a creditor has to file a suit against you and would be able to prevail in court.  So for a Credit Card(Open Account) they have 3 years from when your last payment was to file a suit.  If they file after this time you can use the SOL as an Affirmative Defense in court(you must go to court in this case) to have it dismissed.

However, if they get a judgment against you in court in this case they have 10 years to attempt to collect from the date of the judgment(It does not matter what the judgment was for).  A "Foreign" Judgment is referring to a Judgment that was filed in another State not another Country.  Until the Judgment is Satisfied(paid) then interest at 8% per year will continue to be added on the unpaid balance.

If they have a Judgement they may be able to Garnish your wages.   In general Wage Garnishment is not allowed for Personal Debt in NC.  However, there are cases where it would be.  If it would be allowed they can only garnish your wages if it would not bring you under the minimum wage.   If you have been sued it is best to consult a lawyer so they can give you advise on your exact situation.

Answer 2

It translates to:

The first 60 days of income won't be completely garnished (wisked away). They'll let you keep enough for 'family support' aka enough to buy some SPAM & Mac N Cheese. Also during this time period only gov't can get money not general people you owe.

The statute of limitation on enforcement means the maximum amount of time certain types of accounts can be garnished.

So for example if you had a credit card with an outstanding balance they could garnish your wages for a maximum of 3 years in an attempt to recoup what you owe them.