WAGE GARNISHMENT
If you have defaulted on a loan or credit card and received a letter from your employer stating that they will be garnishing your wages, you should consider filing for bankruptcy immediately. The court will issue a garnishment judgment telling your employer to withhold part of your pay and send it directly to the creditor until the debt is paid in full. If you did not receive proper garnishment notice but your wages are already being garnished, we can go to court and stop the wage garnishment as well.
Filing for bankruptcy will decrease or eliminate the amount you owe on your wage garnishment. You can also get rid of all of your debts if you qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy (excluding student loans and child support). Even if you do not qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is an excellent choice since it may help you save a lot of money.
The following types of debt can be discharged or reduced in your bankruptcy:
The Law Offices of Edgar Lombera can help eliminate your wage garnishment today. Call our Bankruptcy Attorney Edgar Lombera in Riverside and San Bernardino County to discuss your options and learn how you can stop your wage garnishment.
Below is more information about wage garnishments and how they work if you still want to do some research before you call us.
Wage garnishment is a legal process by which a portion of an employee’s earnings are withheld by the employer to pay debts owed. In most cases, wage garnishment is initiated by a creditors through a court order or state law.
When an individual falls behind on debt payments, the creditor may go to court and request an order to garnish the individual’s wages. This means that the creditor can have a portion of the debtor’s paycheck withheld and sent to them each month until the debt is paid in full.
The wage garnishment process can be difficult for the debtor, as they may struggle to make ends meet with less money coming in each month. Bankruptcy is a way to stop wage garnishments immediately and may also eliminate or reduce the amount of money owed.
Wage garnishments happen because an individual has fallen behind and failed to make payments on a debt. The creditor may have made several attempts to collect the debt, but when those efforts have failed, they may turn to wage garnishment as a last resort.
A wage garnishment is often used if you owe child support or alimony payments, but can also be used to collect other types of debt, such as student loans, credit card debt, or back taxes.
In most cases, wage garnishment is initiated by a court order or state law. The creditor will send a notice to the debtor’s employer informing them of the garnishment and how much money should be withheld from each paycheck.
The employer is then legally obligated to withhold the specified amount of money from the debtor’s paycheck and send it to the judgment creditor.
Some negative effects of wage garnishment include:
When lenders look at credit reports, they don’t see the wage garnishment, but they will probably see the missed payments from the judgment creditors on the credit report. They will also see that you have less disposable income by looking at your bank statements and overall financial situation.
According to federal law, your employer cannot fire you for one wage garnishment. But this is not the case if you have multiple wage garnishments.
You can stop a wage garnishment by filing for bankruptcy. An automatic stay is put in place that stops all collection actions from the creditor, including wage garnishments, when you file for bankruptcy.
You may also be able to negotiate with the creditor to stop the garnishment without filing for bankruptcy. But this is typically only an option if you can come up with a plan to repay the debt in full.
The current California state law limit for the amount creditors can take from your paycheck is:
If you owe unpaid taxes, student loans, or child support, you can have your wages garnished without receiving a court judgment. The amount that can be garnished will vary as well.
The federal government can garnish your wages if you owe back taxes, even without a court judgment. The weekly exempt amount is based on the total of the taxpayer’s standard deduction and the aggregate amount of the deductions for personal exemptions allowed by the taxpayer in the taxable year in which such levy occurs.
The state may garnish up to 25% of your net wages to satisfy your tax obligations in California.
If you’re in default on a federal student loan, the U.S. Department of Education or any entity collecting for them can garnish up to 15% of your pay. Federal law states that you can keep an amount that’s equivalent to 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage per week.
This type of garnishment is also known as an administrative garnishment.
All court orders for child support since 1988 include an automatic income withholding order. If you’re ordered to pay child support and don’t make your payments, the other parent can request a wage garnishment from the court.
Federal law limits how much of your disposable earnings can be taken to pay child support. Up to 50% of your disposable earnings may be taken if you are currently supporting a spouse or child who isn’t the subject of the child support. Up to 60% of your earnings may be taken if you are not supporting a spouse or child. If you are more than 12 weeks in arrears, an additional 5% can be taken from your paycheck.
Your rights in a wage garnishment in California are:
If you want to stop the wage garnishment from happening, you can either negotiate with the judgment creditor or file for bankruptcy.
If you want to try to negotiate with the creditor, you can either call them or send a letter.
When you call the creditor, make sure to get the name of the person you speak with, their title, and the date of the conversation. It’s also a good idea to send a follow-up letter confirming what was discussed in the conversation. In the letter, include your name, address, phone number, and the amount of money you are able to pay each month.
If you reach an agreement with the creditor, make sure to get the agreement in writing and make sure that it includes: the amount of money you will pay each month, the date the payments will be made, and what will happen if you miss a payment.
If you want to stop the wage garnishment by filing for bankruptcy, you will need to file a bankruptcy petition with the court and go through the bankruptcy process. Make sure you hire an experienced bankruptcy attorney who can ensure your bankruptcy goes smoothly and your wage garnishment is stopped!
The Law Offices of Edgar Lombera can help eliminate your wage garnishment today. Call our Bankruptcy Attorney Edgar Lombera in Riverside and San Bernardino County to discuss your options and learn how you can stop your wage garnishment.
The Law Offices of Edgar P. Lombera is a federally approved debt relief agency dedicated to helping individuals use bankruptcy as a step to a brighter financial future. Contact us today to learn more about your bankruptcy options.
