Does a prior dismissed bankruptcy case change the automatic stay?

It can. Under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3), if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual debtor under chapter 7, 11, or 13, and a single or joint case of that debtor was pending within the preceding 1-year period but was dismissed (other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a dismissal under § 707(b)), the stay as to any action taken with respect to a debt or property securing that debt, or with respect to any lease, terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing. On motion of a party in interest, the court may extend it after notice and a hearing completed before that 30-day period expires, only if the later filing is shown to be in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.

Can the stay be extended or imposed after repeat filings?

Yes, by separate mechanisms. Continuation under § 362(c)(3)(B) is described above. Section 362(c)(4) covers the next step: if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under title 11 and two or more single or joint cases of that debtor were pending within the previous year but were dismissed (other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal), no stay goes into effect on the filing. If a party in interest requests within 30 days after the filing, the court may order the stay to take effect as to any or all creditors, after notice and a hearing, only on a showing that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed. Such a stay is effective on the date the order is entered.

Is my paycheck protected because the limit is only 25%?

The 25% figure is a ceiling on ordinary judgment garnishment, not a guarantee. KRS 427.010(2) applies the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the week or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, so lower earners are often protected by the second prong instead. And KRS 427.010(3) removes the restriction entirely for support orders, state or federal tax debts, and Chapter 13 orders.

Can my employer fire me over a garnishment?

Federal law addresses this for a single debt: 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) provides that no employer may discharge an employee because his earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and a willful violation is punishable under § 1674(b). Section 1677(2) preserves state laws prohibiting discharge where earnings have been garnished for more than one indebtedness. That is an employment protection, separate from claiming an exemption in the garnishment itself; what either path can recover is a question for a lawyer.

What happens if a creditor serves two garnishments in one pay period?

KRS 425.506(2) provides that no creditor shall cause two orders to be served on the employer against the same employee in the same pay period. Orders otherwise take priority by date of service on the employer, with each inferior order taking effect as if served at the start of the next succeeding pay period not already subject to a prior order. If you think two orders are running at once, ask a lawyer how to raise it with the court that issued them.

Wages & debt

Wage Garnishment in Kentucky: What the Law Says and What Bankruptcy Changes

For ordinary judgment debts, Kentucky caps garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the workweek or the amount above 30 times the applicable federal minimum hourly wage (KRS 427.010(2)). Support, tax and Chapter 13 exceptions apply. Filing a petition generally operates as a stay that commonly halts ordinary judgment garnishment (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)), though income withholding for a domestic support obligation is excepted. Prior dismissals can shorten or prevent the stay, and a court may grant relief from it.

Key points

For ordinary judgment debts, KRS 427.010(2) caps garnishment at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the workweek or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage.
KRS 427.010(3) removes those restrictions for any court order for the support of any person, any state or federal tax debt, and any Chapter 13 bankruptcy court order.
Disposable earnings means what remains after amounts required by law to be withheld, not after every payroll deduction (15 U.S.C. § 1672(b)).
A Kentucky judgment debtor may appear and claim an exemption, and on proof of exemption the garnishment is discharged as to that property or debt (KRS 425.501(4)).
Filing generally operates as a stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a), but § 362(b)(2)(C) excepts domestic-support income withholding, prior dismissed cases can shorten the stay or keep it from arising, and a court may grant relief from it under § 362(d).

If money is already missing from your paycheck, the first questions are how much Kentucky law lets a creditor take and which collections escape that limit. This page is information, not legal advice.

How much of your pay can be garnished in Kentucky?

For ordinary judgment debts, KRS 427.010(2) caps the maximum part of your aggregate disposable earnings for any workweek subjected to garnishment at the lesser of two amounts: 25% of disposable earnings for that week, or the amount by which disposable earnings for that week exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act in effect at the time the earnings are payable. Whichever is less controls. 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a) uses the same two-part structure. For a pay period other than a week, KRS 427.010(2)(b) applies the multiple of the federal minimum hourly wage equivalent to that weekly figure, as prescribed by regulation of the federal Secretary of Labor.

The ceiling is the lesser of the two measures, not a choice the creditor makes.
Both prongs are computed on disposable earnings for the workweek, not gross pay.
A nonweekly pay period uses the federally prescribed equivalent multiple, not a different percentage.

What counts as disposable earnings, and which income escapes the Kentucky cap?

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1672(b), disposable earnings means earnings remaining after deducting amounts required by law to be withheld, not after voluntary deductions such as insurance premiums. "Earnings" is broad: compensation for personal services, whether called wages, salary, commission, or bonus, and including periodic pension or retirement payments (15 U.S.C. § 1672(a)).

The KRS 427.010(2) limits are expressly subject to exceptions. KRS 427.010(3) states that the restrictions do not apply to any order of any court for the support of any person, any order of a bankruptcy court under Chapter 13, or any debt due for any state or federal tax. 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b) caps support withholding at separate, higher percentages. This page does not cover administrative collection.

Ordinary judgment garnishment compared with the KRS 427.010(3) exceptions
Collection type	Subject to the KRS 427.010(2) lesser-of limit?
Ordinary money judgment of a private creditor	Yes (KRS 427.010(2))
Any court order for the support of any person	No (KRS 427.010(3)(a))
Order of a bankruptcy court under Chapter 13	No (KRS 427.010(3)(b))
Debt due for any state or federal tax	No (KRS 427.010(3)(c))

What do the Kentucky statutes require of creditors and courts?

Garnishment under KRS 425.501 follows a judgment, not a mere claim. A person holding a final judgment in personam from a Kentucky court of record may obtain an order by filing an affidavit showing the judgment date, the amount due, and that named persons hold property of or are indebted to the judgment debtor. No bond is required of the judgment plaintiff. The order is served on the garnishees under the Rules of Civil Procedure, and the garnishee must deliver or mail a copy to the judgment debtor.

KRS 425.008 separately requires an earnings order given to an employer to list specified information on one page, including the debtor's name, required address information or permitted alternatives, the amount owed, and information identifying the judgment.

Sensitive identifiers such as a date of birth or Social Security number may travel in a separate addendum shielded from public inspection (KRS 425.008(2)).
Successive orders may issue against the same or other garnishees until the judgment is satisfied (KRS 425.501(6)).
KRS Chapter 427 governs the proceedings under the order so far as applicable (KRS 425.501(7)).

What does an employer have to do, and how do competing orders rank?

An earnings garnishment order creates a lien on all nonexempt earnings earned during the pay period in which it is served on the employer and during those succeeding pay periods the order designates (KRS 425.506(1)). That is a lien on nonexempt earnings in the designated periods, not a freeze on all your income or accounts.

Priority runs by date of service on the employer, and each inferior order takes effect as if served at the commencement of the next succeeding pay period not subject to a prior order. KRS 425.506(2) bars a creditor from causing two orders to be served on the employer against the same employee in the same pay period. The order is served in triplicate and must carry a printed explanation of those priority rules, the percentage of disposable earnings exempted by KRS 427.010(2), and the percentage to be forwarded to the court (KRS 425.506(3)). The employer must also give you a copy and state the gross and nonexempt amounts under oath (KRS 425.506(4)).

Which statutory protections may matter when contesting a Kentucky garnishment?

KRS 425.501(4) lets the judgment debtor appear and claim the exemption of any property or debt that is exempt from execution; on proof of exemption, the garnishment is discharged as to that exempt property or debt. Ask a lawyer which steps the court that entered your judgment applies. Property or a debt found not exempt is applied to the judgment (KRS 425.501(5)).

Other statutes govern the garnishee, not you: appearance (KRS 425.511), payment and costs (KRS 425.516), examination and bonding (KRS 425.521), and the creditor's action against an unsatisfactory garnishee (KRS 425.526). 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) bars discharging an employee because earnings have been garnished for any one indebtedness. That is an employment protection, not a way to claim an exemption.

A willful violation of the no-discharge rule carries criminal penalties under 15 U.S.C. § 1674(b).
State law prohibiting garnishment, or limiting it more than federal law, is not displaced (15 U.S.C. § 1677).
KRS 427.050(1) applies the exemption law of the state where wages are earned and payable, except that Kentucky law applies exclusively where the defendant was personally served with process in Kentucky, was a bona fide Kentucky resident when the subject debt arose, or was a bona fide Kentucky resident when the cause of action arose.

How does filing bankruptcy affect a Kentucky garnishment?

Filing a voluntary petition constitutes an order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301) and operates as a stay of the continuation of actions against the debtor and the enforcement of a prepetition judgment against the debtor or property of the estate (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)). The stay arises from the filing itself, not from notice or a separate court order.

The stay is not universal: § 362(b)(2)(C) excepts withholding of income, whether estate or debtor property, for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute. On request of a party in interest, after notice and a hearing, the court grants relief from the stay for cause or on other grounds (§ 362(d)). Prior dismissed cases can shorten the stay or prevent it (§ 362(c)(3), (c)(4)).

The stay operates by force of the statute once the petition is filed; notice to a creditor is not what creates it (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)).
KRS 427.010(3)(b) exempts an order of a bankruptcy court under Chapter 13 from Kentucky's ordinary wage limit.
Whether a particular withholding falls inside an exception is a legal question for a lawyer, not something to assume.

What should you ask a lawyer about a Kentucky garnishment?

Bring your pay stubs and the garnishment paperwork.

KRS 427.170 authorizes an individual debtor domiciled in Kentucky to exempt the property specified under 11 U.S.C. § 522(d), solely for applying § 522(b)(2) and only to the extent otherwise allowed by applicable federal law. That federal qualifier matters: § 522(b)(3)(A) keys the alternative to the place where your domicile was located for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing, or, if not a single state for that period, the place where it was located for the 180 days immediately preceding that 730-day period, or for the longer portion of those 180 days than in any other place. That alternative covers more than state law: also property exempt under other federal law apart from subsection (d), and retirement funds in a tax-exempt fund or account. If the domiciliary requirement would leave you ineligible for any exemption, § 522(b) permits electing the subsection (d) list.

Which prong of KRS 427.010(2) controls my pay period, and is my employer computing disposable earnings correctly under 15 U.S.C. § 1672(b)?
Is this withholding an ordinary judgment garnishment, a support order, or tax collection, given KRS 427.010(3)?
How and when do I appear to claim an exemption under KRS 425.501(4) in the court that entered the judgment?
Were my wages earned and payable outside Kentucky, and does KRS 427.050 change which exemption law applies?
Given my full domicile history, including the period before the 730 days preceding a filing, which exemption list is available to me under 11 U.S.C. § 522(b) and KRS 427.170?
Have I had a bankruptcy case dismissed in the past year that could affect the stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)?

Frequently asked questions

Does a prior dismissed bankruptcy case change the automatic stay?: It can. Under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3), if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual debtor under chapter 7, 11, or 13, and a single or joint case of that debtor was pending within the preceding 1-year period but was dismissed (other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a dismissal under § 707(b)), the stay as to any action taken with respect to a debt or property securing that debt, or with respect to any lease, terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing. On motion of a party in interest, the court may extend it after notice and a hearing completed before that 30-day period expires, only if the later filing is shown to be in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.
Can the stay be extended or imposed after repeat filings?: Yes, by separate mechanisms. Continuation under § 362(c)(3)(B) is described above. Section 362(c)(4) covers the next step: if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under title 11 and two or more single or joint cases of that debtor were pending within the previous year but were dismissed (other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal), no stay goes into effect on the filing. If a party in interest requests within 30 days after the filing, the court may order the stay to take effect as to any or all creditors, after notice and a hearing, only on a showing that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed. Such a stay is effective on the date the order is entered.
Is my paycheck protected because the limit is only 25%?: The 25% figure is a ceiling on ordinary judgment garnishment, not a guarantee. KRS 427.010(2) applies the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the week or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, so lower earners are often protected by the second prong instead. And KRS 427.010(3) removes the restriction entirely for support orders, state or federal tax debts, and Chapter 13 orders.
Can my employer fire me over a garnishment?: Federal law addresses this for a single debt: 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) provides that no employer may discharge an employee because his earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and a willful violation is punishable under § 1674(b). Section 1677(2) preserves state laws prohibiting discharge where earnings have been garnished for more than one indebtedness. That is an employment protection, separate from claiming an exemption in the garnishment itself; what either path can recover is a question for a lawyer.
Does Kentucky let me use the federal bankruptcy exemptions?: Yes, subject to federal law. KRS 427.170 authorizes an individual debtor domiciled in Kentucky to exempt the property specified under 11 U.S.C. § 522(d), solely for applying § 522(b)(2) and only to the extent otherwise allowed by applicable federal law. Whether that authorization reaches you depends on the § 522(b)(3)(A) domicile rule described above, which can point to another state's law instead. A lawyer can confirm which list applies in your case.
What happens if a creditor serves two garnishments in one pay period?: KRS 425.506(2) provides that no creditor shall cause two orders to be served on the employer against the same employee in the same pay period. Orders otherwise take priority by date of service on the employer, with each inferior order taking effect as if served at the start of the next succeeding pay period not already subject to a prior order. If you think two orders are running at once, ask a lawyer how to raise it with the court that issued them.

Sources

KRS 427.010 — Exempt personal property, health savings funds, and disposable earnings of individual debtors
KRS 427.050 — Out-of-state law applicable when wages earned and payable out-of-state -- Exceptions
KRS 427.170 — Federal bankruptcy code exemptions applicable in Kentucky
KRS 425.501 — Proceedings for obtaining order of garnishment
KRS 425.506 — Attachment or garnishment of earnings -- Priority -- Order
KRS 425.008 — Information required for order of attachment or garnishment -- Addendum
KRS 425.511 — Appearance of garnishee -- Failure to appear
KRS 425.516 — Payment by garnishee -- Costs
KRS 425.521 — Procedure if garnishee indebted to defendant
KRS 425.526 — Action by plaintiff against garnishee -- Attachment
11 U.S.C. § 301 — Voluntary cases
11 U.S.C. § 362 — Automatic stay · official source
11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
15 U.S.C. § 1672 — Definitions
15 U.S.C. § 1673 — Restriction on garnishment
15 U.S.C. § 1674 — Restriction on discharge from employment by reason of garnishment
15 U.S.C. § 1677 — Effect on State laws

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified October 9, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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