What if i was never served in the underlying case
Vacating a judgment takes more than just showing that you were never served. We speak to people every week who have a judgment against them based on a default. We review records all the time where the complaint was not personally served on the right person. Sometimes it was served on a roommate or family member, sometimes to a stranger at an old address.
Vacating an existing judgment is difficult. It requires showing not just a lack of proper service, but also a meritorious defense as well as "due diligence" once the judgment is discovered.
Many of our clients are unable to prove all three elements and we have to focus on defending against the garnishment and collection, not the underlying judgment.
Does my spouse count as a defendant?
Yes, your spouse can be considered a dependent for head of family purposes, but the judge may apply more scrutiny than a minor child.
The purpose of the head of family exemption is to ensure that garnishments don't leave people who are dependent on you destitute. For a minor child that is pretty easy. For an adult that may be a bit more difficult, but we encourage you to speak to an attorney if about your possible exemption if you being garnished and you support other people, whether minors or adults.