What is a Wage Garnishment and How Does it Work?
A wage garnishment is a court-ordered process requiring your employer to withhold money from your paycheck and direct that money to pay a court-ordered money judgment. When you owe someone money or do not pay bills, the creditor can sue you and get a money judgment. Then they ask the court to enter a wage garnishment order, usually accompanying a withholding order that is sent directly to the payroll or human resources department where you work.
Nobody wants their wage garnished and their paycheck reduced. People worry they won’t be able to pay the bills on less money. People worry their boss will find out and hold the garnishment against them. People worry about being passed up for promotions, or they worry about being fired.
People ask Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Joseph Wrobel what they can do to stop wage garnishment. Bankruptcy will stop wage garnishment proceedings because the automatic stay prohibits creditors from taking any collection activity against you during the bankruptcy.
Joe Wrobel is the Chicago bankruptcy lawyer who can stop your wage garnishment. Call Joseph Wrobel, Ltd., today at (312) 781-0996. Stop wage garnishment before or after it happens.
Check out these testimonials from people who loved their bankruptcy with Joseph Wrobel, Ltd.
How to Stop Wage Garnishment of 15 Percent of Your Gross Wages
Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Joseph Wrobel knows you are concerned about your monthly budget. A wage garnishment is going to make it even harder to pay the bills. In Illinois, creditors can take up to 15 percent of your gross wages.
Stop wage garnishment of 15 percent of your grow wages by filing bankruptcy before the wage garnishment is initiated by your creditors. In Illinois, creditors have to sue you and obtain a money judgment before they can petition the court for a wage garnishment. This means that you have time before the wage garnishment takes effect.
As soon as your Chicago bankruptcy lawyer files your bankruptcy petition, your rights take effect, including the automatic stay. An important right under bankruptcy law, the automatic stay stops wage garnishment immediately because that would be collection activity while the person is in bankruptcy, which is prohibited and a violation of federal law.
How Long Can the Automatic Stay Provision Stop a Garnishment
When you meet with Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Joseph Wrobel he will explain how the automatic stay works and how long it will protect you from any collection activity. At your initial meeting with Joe Wrobel, you will be given a roadmap of what will happen from the beginning until the end of your bankruptcy. You will learn that the great thing about filing a bankruptcy petition is that you get immediate relief from bill collectors, lawsuits and wage garnishments.
Automatic stay protection in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy lasts until your Chapter 7 discharge and the final court date when your bankruptcy case ends and is closed. Likely the creditor will not have anything to garnish your wages for because the underlying debt was probably discharged in the bankruptcy case.
Automatic stay protection in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy will also help you live free of collector harassment while you get caught on your bills and finances over three to five years. Most people who file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy are saving their homes from foreclosure, but they are also saving themselves from wage garnishments. Another example would be a person who wants to stop wage garnishment and discharge the underlying debt, but that person does not qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy because they make too much money.
Joseph Wrobel can meet with you and let you know whether you can qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy depending on your finances and situation. Read our How Do I Start page on our website. Call today (312) 781-0996.
Check out our many locations, there is one near you!
Discharging the Source of the Garnishment in Bankruptcy
Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Joseph Wrobel can advise you about your rights and options under the bankruptcy laws for Chapter 7 and for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For example, you may have questions about what debts are dischargeable and which are not.
While in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the standard full wipeout of dischargeable debt, you can get rid of credit card debt, money judgments, hospital bills and other debt. Meanwhile, child support, DUI personal injury suits, student loans, income tax and debts not listed in your bankruptcy are not dischargeable.
A creditor can also challenge your request to discharge certain debts when they challenge your request to discharge them. For example, if you max out a credit card and incur debts just before a bankruptcy, with the intention of never paying them, it can be considered fraud on the court if you ask to discharge those debts in bankruptcy.
Call Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyer Joseph Wrobel to Stop Wage Garnishment and Learn Your Bankrutpcy Rights Today (312) 781-0996
Joseph Wrobel has been helping Chicago and suburban residents get a fresh start and get out of debt for decades. Mr. Wrobel has seen just about everything and he knows how to handle even the most complex financial situations. When you hire Joseph Wrobel, Ltd., you can put yourself in the best financial position after your bankruptcy. Whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13, you and your future credit, buying and borrowing power are in good hands when you hire Joe Wrobel.
You can learn all kinds of things about bankruptcy cases and the common questions people have when you start reviewing our blog articles and podcast interview discussions where we answer real questions.