What happens during a wage garnishment?

Having your wages garnished can be one of the most humiliating and frustrating things that can happen to a person that is struggling financially. However, garnishment typically is not the only problem that is happening in a person’s life and only one problem they have to deal with when they owe creditors.

How does a garnishment happen?

Garnishments usually happen after a debtor has neglected the creditor for a long period of time and the creditor has gone to court to seek a legal method of recovering the money that is owed to them. A creditor seeking garnishment is a last resort method for getting their money back.  If the creditor files for garnishment with the court they will send the garnishment notice to your employer and the employer is required by law to withhold what ever amount is legally specified by your state laws.

How can I stop wage garnishment?

Most times if you can come up with the bankruptcy attorney fees you can stop them from garnishing your wages. If it is several thousand dollars you can find a cheap bankruptcy attorney. However, most times garnishment can be avoided if you work with the creditor to make payments. If working with the creditor makes sure you get the payment agreement in writing and do not deviate from this agreement as this will help them if they decide to take you to court. If the creditor has filed with the court to with hold a portion of your wages you must go to court and show them the arrangement both you and the creditor agreed to in order to stop the court from automatically allowing the creditor to garnish your wages.

What happens after the garnishment has been satisfied?

It is typical for people to overpay during a garnishment because the garnishment is paid on a percent basis to avoid taking most of your income from your paycheck for people whose income may vary by the hours worked. If you overpaid in garnishment you will be entitled to receive a refund from the creditor. Once the garnishment has been paid in full the court will release the creditor’s rights to garnish the wages.

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