If you are behind on your debts, your creditor may file a lawsuit against you. If you have ceased making payments on a debt, your creditor may seek a court judgment against you. The creditor may then ask the court to garnish your income or your bank account in order to collect the debt. The court will then order that your debt be deducted from your wages or bank account on a regular basis, in order to pay off the loan over time. However, if you're already having trouble paying your debts, a garnishment could make an already difficult circumstance much worse.
If you are facing wage garnishment, you have the following options to stop it:
Pay off the Debt
If you can come up with ways to gather money and pay the creditor in full, the wage garnishment can stop. However, you have to pay the debt amount in a lump sum, and additionally, you must pay court costs. Otherwise, creditors are not willing to accept anything less than the guaranteed court-ordered payments. It is important to determine whether paying off the amount in full will result in only further frustrating you financially. If this occurs, you will be late on your other payments which can further damage your credit.
Challenge the garnishment
When you receive a judgment, you have a number of days to challenge it. You must act fast in order to stop wage garnishment. You can file an objection to the garnishments on grounds based on the following: the garnishment was not properly issued or the garnishment is invalid, you are already being garnished pursuant to another order, the debt is not yours, or the amount of debt is not correct.
File for bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy can immediately stop the garnishment. If you have no money left and your financial situation is in shambles, then you can file for bankruptcy which will discharge you of your debts. However, bankruptcy comes with its own drawbacks. Before filing for bankruptcy, talk to a bankruptcy attorney first, to determine whether it is the right choice for you.
Filing a claim for exemption
Certain types of income are exempted from being garnished, that includes alimony, child support, social security, retirement, and disability income. If your income falls under any of these, you can file a claim for exemption. As a result, you will get rid of the garnishment or reduce it at the very least.
If you are facing wage garnishment, it's important you talk to an experienced attorney. Book a consultation with skilled attorneys at Tariq Law and get assistance on your case.
Contact us at info@tariqlaw.com.
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