Tacoma Bankruptcy Attorney

Stop Wage Garnishments

Garnishment and bankruptcy protection.

FREE attorney consultation: (253) 778-6952

A garnishment can crush someone who is already having trouble making ends meet. A creditor can garnish up to 25% of your take home pay.

First a creditor has to personally serve you with a lawsuit. They can not mail it to you. It must be hand delivered, though there are times mistakes are made and you are not aware of the lawsuit. They can leave it with a roommate or mistakenly serve it to an old address. Such mistakes are rare. You usually have plenty of warning before a garnishment starts.

Stop wage garnishments immediately with bankruptcy protection.

No matter what stage the lawsuit or garnishment is in, the bankruptcy will stop it immediately. If you have had wages garnished in the last 60 days before filing bankruptcy, you may be able to recover them.

Once you are served with a law suit, you have 14 days to respond. It is important to respond even if your answer is very brief. Otherwise the creditor can get a default judgment without you being present in court and the garnishment can start as soon as the creditor contacts your employer for a statement of your earnings.

Employers cannot fire you for the first garnishment, but they can for garnishments after that. You probably do not want your payroll department to know your business and it is burdensome to them to have to respond to the garnishment paperwork. Once your pay check is garnished, it will be difficult to afford the necessary fees for your bankruptcy. It is hard to collect all the necessary paperwork for bankruptcy and take your credit counseling class in a hurry too.

A Tacoma bankruptcy attorney from our team can help you understand more about garnishment and bankruptcy protection with a free consultation - call today!

(253) 778-6952

Though it is much better to plan for bankruptcy before your wages are garnished, you can still stop a garnishment as soon as you file your case. Garnishments need to be renewed every 60 days so you may get a breather. Every time the creditor’s lawyers have to do work on the case, they add attorney’s fees. Interest keeps piling up too. Many people find that the 25% that is garnished does not even keep up with interest and attorney fees.

Social security, unemployment benefits and child support can not be garnished. If that is your only source of income and you have no assets, you are “judgment proof”, meaning a creditor can get a judgment against you but have no way of collecting. Many people in this situation choose to file bankruptcy anyway just to know it’s done with, to let their creditors know that they will never be able to pay and to avoid stressful collection calls.

Garnishment and bankruptcy protection with Chapter 13.

If you have a higher income, you may have to file a Chapter 13. A Chapter 13 plan, even if it pays 100%, is better than waiting for every creditor to start garnishing your wages. Only one creditor can garnish at a time. When you are being garnished, you will probably fall behind on other bills and other creditors may sue you. A Chapter 13 stops legal fees and interest, takes care of all your debt at once and gives you a goal for being debt free without oppressive garnishments.

Contact the Tacoma bankruptcy attorneys on our team today for a free consultation!

We understand that times are tough, and we want to help you get back on your feet. To better aid you in doing so, our Tacoma bankruptcy lawyers offer flexible payment plans and have affordable fees. Get your legal questions answered today about how you can stop wage garnishments through bankruptcy, and get on the path towards a brighter financial future.

	Need to stop wage garnishments? Contact a skilled Tacoma bankruptcy attorney with our firm today for a FREE consultation: Tacoma: (253) 778-6952