Wage Garnishment Help

If you are behind in payments the lender has the right to procure a judgment against you, at this point you will need wage garnishment help.

There are a few things a collection agency can go after, it can be a: property lien, a freeze on your bank account or a wage garnishment judgment. Hopefully you don't let it get to this point, but if it does there is help and things you can do to curtail the process.

There are steps and procedures a lender must go through before they can approach the court. A major lender usually ends up selling a delinquent loan to a collection agency after the account is 6 months behind. The collection agency pays pennies on the dollar for the debt. They will exhaust all avenues to collect the debt before they even consider garnishing your wages.

Once they have exhausted the collection steps they can then take the case to a judge who makes the decision if a judgment is valid. A wage garnishment order is sent to your employer and they will attach your paycheck according to the order.

As mentioned, there are federal and state laws that must be followed. Lets take a look at what these laws entitle.

There are federal laws and there are state laws.

The judge takes each case individually and applies the guidelines accordingly. Generally, the maximum take from your wage is 25% or if the states rate is lower he will take the lower of the two. Most of the time these are unsecured debts or secured debts where the sale of the property is less than owed.

It is becoming more common for collection agencies to seek these wage garnishments due to the fact that the outstanding debts are higher, and it's worth the expense to take the case to court.

Of course the best thing is not to let the situation get to this point, but if it does you will probably need garnishment help. Your next step is finding a a wage garnishment attorney.

Stopping a garnishment, once the court has approved it can be done, but your options are limited.

You can try to negotiate, but it is probably to late at this point because the collection agency has a legal garnishment. Since they have approval and went through the trouble to get approval, chances are a lump sum settlement is the only thing they will consider. This will include interest and penalties.

If you're not in a position to do this, we go to the next step, Bankruptcy

This is pretty much what it boils down to at this stage, bankruptcy will halt all collections with an Automatic Stay. Once you file the papers, legally all collections and garnishments stop. There is even a chance you can recover some or all of the money taken from your wages after your bankruptcy is approved.

Bankruptcy is a step people don't like to consider, but if debt is smothering you and it looks like you can't recover, then bankruptcy could be your best choice.

Also, be prepared to hire a bankruptcy lawyer or a wage garnishment attorney. A complex case could require hiring an expert in each field. This will cost a bit more, but is well worth the fees.

There are occasions when even after filing bankruptcy, and you're under the courts protection, collection agencies will still try and collect.

They are breaking the law at this point. They know the law or they should, I think it might be personal with some collectors at this stage.

The reason we mention this is there have been cases where the collection agency is sued, this is a good reason to keep Good records. The garnishment attorney will guide you through what to do if a collector is still on the hunt, keeping good documentation could actually aide you in suing the collector.

Garnishment is a collectors last resort and bankruptcy will be your last resort to trump the garnishment process.

The main thing is you now know what options you have in the garnishment process.

Remember you can only file chapter 7 bankruptcy every 8 years. If you used this wild card (chapter 7) before, and your not eligible yet, do everything possible to negotiate your debt so it won't end up as a garnishment.

You can also consider a chapter 13 bankruptcy. This type of bankruptcy won't be an immediate disillusion of debt, but if chapter 7 is not an option maybe chapter 13 will be your only choice.