If you owe debt to a creditor and stop paying that debt owed to the creditor then they must take you to court to garish your wages.
A creditor will usually take you to court if you fail to pay the creditor the debt owed within 6 months or so and they haven't been able to get you to make payments.
Depending on the amount of the debt owed the creditor may or may not take you to court to garnish your wages.
If it's a debt of $1,000.00 or under they are unlikely to take you to court to garnish your wages or anything else as it would cost the creditor more money to take you to court and they would likely just write the debt off.
But if you owe over $1,000.00 or $10,000.00 or more to the creditor then they will likely take you to court after a few months to 6 months or a year of failing to pay the debt.
If you get a letter in the mail or are served with papers that summon you to court to sue you for the debt then you must show up or they will grant the creditor the wage garnishment or anything else that they are wanting to do.
The time it takes for the creditor to take you to court to garish your wages depends as some are quicker to do it than others.
However if it's been over 7 years and the creditor hasn't sued you then they cannot force you to pay the debt owed unless you make contact with the creditor again then the time starts over.