812.39.Payment to creditor.

Section 812.39 sets the payment mechanics for an earnings garnishment already in effect. Between five and ten business days after the payday of each pay period the garnishment covers, the garnishee must pay the creditor the portion of the debtor’s nonexempt disposable earnings the creditor is entitled to. That window gives the garnishee time to process payroll and confirm the amount without leaving the creditor waiting indefinitely.

Support obligations come first. A court-ordered assignment of the debtor’s earnings for support or maintenance under chapter 767 takes priority over the earnings garnishment, no matter when the garnishee first learned of that assignment. If the debtor’s earnings are also subject to assignment under section 767.75, the creditor cannot collect more than 25 percent of the debtor’s disposable earnings minus whatever amount is already assigned under that section — a cap meant to keep support and garnishment obligations from combining into an unworkable bite out of a single paycheck.

The debtor is not left in the dark about any of this. Section 812.39 requires the garnishee to give the debtor written notice of any amount paid to a creditor under the subchapter, delivered at the same time the payment is made.