debt collection has garnished my payroll check for a debt i had 10 years ago when i was 18 years old.

It appears that the creditor has obtained a judgment against you. In all likelihood, the only way to stop garnishment will be to pay off the debt. If the matter has gotten this far, you must have received notice that you were being sued for the debt, so garnishment should not be much of a surprise (unless there are material facts that you have not disclosed).

Disclaimer: This post does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

It doesn't matter how old you were when you incurred the debt, what matters is when you breached, which gives the creditor 4 years to sue and get a judgment against you. If the creditor filed suit within those 4 years, then it doesn't matter when they got their judgment, and they can take basically as long as they like to collect. In CA, judgments are good for 10 years, and even can be renewed for another 10 years.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

#1 thing to start with is claim whatever exemptions you can to keep as much of the paycheck as you can. Don't delay or you will lose more money - they should have given you notice with the garnishment on the general nature on how to do this.

Then if you were unaware of this debt at all, go to the courthouse and see how they sued you - unless you knew you were being sued - in which case they probably gave you notice.

Good luck with your situation. Please remember this is general information and not specific legal advice because we have not interview you nor seen your documents for specifics.

Matthew Williamson