When you owe a debt, a creditor may be able to file a lawsuit against you and obtain permission to garnishee your wages. If the creditor obtains permission for garnishment, he can submit paperwork to your employer that allows the creditor to receive up to 25 percent of your disposable income. In most cases, however, a creditor can't do this unless you fall behind in your payments.
About Garnishment
Most states allow a creditor to garnish your wages only if he obtains a judgment allowing him to do so. To obtain a judgment, the creditor must file a lawsuit against you. The court will inform you of the lawsuit, and you will have the opportunity to defend yourself. If the court determines that you owe the debt and have failed to pay, it will grant the creditor a judgment. The court won't grant the creditor a judgment if you aren't behind in your payments.
Preventing Garnishment
Before a creditor garnishes your wages, most states require him to send you a final notice of the debt. To prevent garnishment, you can pay off your debt. You may also be able to prevent the garnishment by proposing a payment plan to your creditor. However, you must obtain proof in writing that your creditor won't garnishee your wages to prevent him from doing so.
Stopping Garnishment
Once a garnishment order is in place, making payments won't prevent the creditor from continuing the garnishment. However, the creditor must stop garnishing your wages if you pay your debt in full. He must also stop if you file bankruptcy. Some creditors may be willing to end the garnishment if you agree to a payment plan, but the law doesn't require them to do so.
Considerations
Creditors can't garnishee certain types of income, such as Social Security benefits. Creditors also can't garnishee more than 25 percent of your wages after taxes. If you believe your wages are exempt from garnishment or that the creditor is taking too much, you can request a hearing to contest the order. Though the law doesn't prevent them from doing so, most creditors won't seek a judgment against you as long as you are making an effort to pay.
0 comments:
Post a Comment