San Jose Bankruptcy Attorney Discusses Wage Garnishments
You never thought they would take it this far, but they did. You realize that they can find you anywhere and at anytime and take what you have worked so hard for. This isn’t the plot of the next Saw movie, this is a creditor who is taking 25% of your wages every pay period who you never thought would be able to find you. Many debtors are going through this very stressful situation. What happens is the creditor files a lawsuit against you for the debt owed and they obtain a judgment for the debt. Once they obtain the judgment, the creditor is able to request a wage garnishment which will most likely be granted by the court. The wage garnishment is then sent to your Human Resources department where your employer is obligated by law to follow the judgment and withhold up to 25% of your earnings every pay period pre-tax. For most people, 25% of their earnings is debilitating chunk of money to lose every month, not to mention taxes, healthcare and retirement withholdings as well. But what most people do not know is that this process is much more stressful than it has to be and can be gone immediately at the filing of a bankruptcy.
A wage garnishment is stopped immediately once you file a bankruptcy. In fact, any lawsuits that have been filed against you will stop immediately after filing a bankruptcy. This means that once you file, you have the protection of the “automatic stay” and the creditor can no longer take money from your wages. Depending on if you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the entire debt could be discharged and you will no longer be liable for the debt and no creditors will be able to reach your hard earned money. If this is happening to you, we would encourage you to call a bankruptcy attorney to discuss your situation and see how to stop it before you see your thousands of dollars disappear every month.
If you have questions about bankruptcy please give EH Law Group a call us or visit our website at www.ehlawgroup.com. Our San Francisco bankruptcy attorneys, San Jose bankruptcy attorneys or San Mateo bankruptcy attorneys will be able to assist you. We will discuss your situation and assess what the best option is for you. We look forward to speaking with you soon!