What You Need to Know about Wage Garnishment

A garnishment is an involuntary repayment of a debt you owe a creditor.  When a creditor has taken you to court and obtained a judgment against you, they can ask a judge for an order allowing them to take money straight out of one of your paychecks each week until the debt is paid. Once these papers are processed, each paycheck will have a percentage sent directly to the creditor to satisfy this debt. This can be very stressful for individuals as the amount a creditor can take from a check can be as high as 25% of your gross wages. If you are being garnished, there are options that can help you make the creditor happy while still avoiding further action against you. These are a few of the options that are available, including how to stop wage garnishment in Seattle. 

Filing Bankruptcy

If you are being garnished, having an attorney help you file bankruptcy is probably the fastest way to stop garnishments. When you file, creditors are not allowed to take any additional money from you during the course of your bankruptcy case, unless they get permission from a bankruptcy judge. Judges are very reluctant to allow creditors to take money from people while in a bankruptcy, so you are almost guaranteed complete protection while in a bankruptcy case. The average bankruptcy case lasts approximately 90 days if you file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and 3 years if you file for a Chapter 13 petition. The specific type of bankruptcy that is best for you depends on many different factors. It is best to discuss your options with a competent bankruptcy attorney. Once your bankruptcy case is finished, you typically will not owe any additional money to the creditors who were taking money from your check before you filed a case.

Settling Your Debt

Bankruptcy is not for everyone. Many people do not have enough money to file a bankruptcy petition or they are not eligible to file because they make too much money, or have recently filed another bankruptcy case. If this is the case, it may be time to try and settle your debt rather than file for bankruptcy. A debt settlement can be reached in several different ways, some of which involve hiring an attorney. Many creditors know that if you end up filing for bankruptcy they will get little or no money from you, and so they are willing to accept less (sometimes much less) than the amount you currently owe in full satisfaction of the debt. Settling a debt can be as simple as calling the creditor, or the entity that represents the creditor, and informing them that you want to settle. Creditors are not obligated to settle, and some of them won't once the garnishment starts, but many will still be willing to do so. Debts can be settled by making monthly payments or by paying one lump sum payment. Most creditors will charge interest if you decide to settle by doing monthly payments.

Ignoring the Problem

If you choose to ignore the garnishment papers you receive, the creditor will start taking money from each paycheck. Once this process begins, it can be very difficult to get a creditor to stop. The amount they are allowed to take from each check varies from state to state, but some judges will allow a creditor to take up to 30% of a paycheck. When this happens, the garnishments will continue until the debt is paid in full. Judges only allow one creditor to take money at a time-so if you owe multiple debts each creditor will take turns taking money from your checks until all the money is paid in full. If you don't want this to happen, consult a bankruptcy attorney about how to stop wage garnishment in Seattle.

Source : articlesbase.com