How to Protect Yourself From Wage Garnishment

Wage garnishment can put a huge dent in your finances, often making it difficult for you to get by and make ends meet. Many people often find their wages attached after failing to pay back a debt, when the attachment could have been avoided. Wage attachments can go beyond a deduction from your paycheck and may result in liens against your personal property until the debt is satisfied. There are ways you can protect yourself from a wage garnishment, but you must take action immediately.

Instructions

1

Pay the debt off immediately. Coming up with the full amount owed and paying off the debt all at once can stop garnishment in its tracks.

2

Renegotiate payment terms with your creditor as soon as possible. Some creditors may be willing to settle for less than the full amount of the debt if you agree to pay in one lump sum. Paying off the debt before the creditor sues you and the court demands a wage garnishment can protect your assets.

3

Work with a debt consolidator and have your credit debt consolidated. Consolidating all of your debts requires financial assistance granted by a debt consolidation service. The service loans you the money needed to satisfy the debts, and you pay the service one monthly payment, which is often lower than the multiple payments you would make on each individual debt every month. In many cases, you must have a mid-range to high credit score to be considered for consolidation.

4

File for bankruptcy. When you file chapter 7 bankruptcy, your belongings are sold off and the money earned goes toward settlement of your debts. The remaining debt is then written off. Filing chapter 13 bankruptcy assigns your debt repayment to the court, which orders repayment terms you can afford based on your monthly earnings. Bankruptcy stops wage garnishment.