Wage garnishment is the worst-case scenario, at least in California. The Constitution and its amendments outlaw debtors’ prisons; the worst creditors can do is ask the courts to divert your earned income to them. This dystopian process is known as wage garnishment or wage attachment. The bad news is that even when wage attachment seems inevitable, you must go through a long process before it happens, so this only prolongs the stress. The good news is that, much as with mortgage foreclosure, you always have a chance to avert the process until it is complete. One of the ways to stop the court from garnishing your paychecks is to file for bankruptcy protection. If you have been on the fence about filing for bankruptcy, the opportunity to avoid wage garnishment just may be the factor that clinches your decision.
If you are ready to file for bankruptcy so that you can stop the wage garnishment proceedings against you in their tracks, contact an Oakland Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer.
Wage Garnishment is the Final Step in a Long Process
It only makes sense that once you deposit money in your bank account or once your employer deposits money to your bank account through direct deposit, no one can take it out without your permission. A court authorizing your bank to give your money to someone without your consent is truly dystopian, and while it sometimes happens, it is not the usual procedure for wage garnishment.
Instead, the wage garnishment process begins when a creditor sues you for an unpaid debt and wins. When this happens, the court issues a money judgment, ordering you to pay the debt to the creditor. If enough time goes by and you do not pay, the creditor can petition the court to issue a wage garnishment order. This is a court order where the court instructs your employer to send a portion of your paycheck to the creditor and the rest of it to you. There are limits on the percentage of each paycheck, or the amount per pay period, that the court can order your employer to send to the creditor.
How Does a Bankruptcy Filing Affect the Wage Garnishment Process?
If a creditor sues you, or even if the creditor has already gotten a judgment against you, you should hire a debt relief lawyer to represent you in the lawsuit or fight the wage garnishment. Another option is to file for bankruptcy protection at any stage in the wage garnishment process. As soon as the bankruptcy court receives your filing, it will put an automatic stay on any current or pending wage attachment cases. Your lawyer can help you decide whether filing for bankruptcy is your best option or whether there is a simpler way to stop wage attachment.
Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare About Bankruptcy Filings
A debt relief lawyer can help you file for bankruptcy so you can stop wage attachment. Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare in Oakland, California, or call (510)255-4646 for a case evaluation.
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