What Is Wage Garnishment?
Most creditors cannot garnish your wages without first suing you in court and getting a money judgment. Upon suing you, and getting a judgment, the creditor can then get an order to garnish your wages from the court. (There are a few exceptions, for example, for student loans, taxes, and child support.)The sheriff then forwards the order to your employer, who then holds back a portion of your wages each pay period and sends that amount to the creditor. There is however limits to how much the employer can garnish from your paycheck each month. And you may be able to protect even more using exemptions.
Preventing Wage Garnishment
Hiring a Bethlehem Bankruptcy attorney does not consequentially trigger an automatic stay, nor does it stop a creditor from garnishing your wages. Once you receive notice that your wages are about to be garnished, you can file for bankruptcy quickly, before your wages are actually garnished. Filing quickly, with or without the assistance of an attorney, will put your automatic stay in place before your creditors get a chance to take your wages.
Hiring a Bethlehem Bankruptcy Lawyer
When you hire Bethlehem Bankruptcy to file bankruptcy for you, I may choose to send a letter of representation to your creditors, identifying myself as your attorney. While such a letter does not automatically stop garnishment proceedings, your creditors may choose to stop garnishment because of your pending bankruptcy case since they know garnishment must stop once your case is filed.
Voluntary Halt to Garnishment
When your creditor receives a letter of representation from Bethlehem Bankruptcy , particularly if the letter states that you are about to file bankruptcy, the creditor may decide against pursuing a garnishment order since it more than likely may end up costing him/her more than it is worth. By the time the creditor considers paying court costs and attorney fees, the creditor may decide the hassle and cost of garnishment is too much when balanced against the low chance that the creditor will get paid. However, this is the creditor’s choice, and the only thing that guarantees a halt to garnishment is an automatic stay from a bankruptcy filing.
If you are facing a wage garnishment, contact Bethlehem Bankruptcy Lawyer today for a free consultation at 800-123-1234.
