If you struggle to make ends meet as it is, the garnishing of your wages could not come at a worse time. You may especially feel the pressure if you have dependents you rely on your paycheck to cover their basic needs, as well. At this point, you may need to take matters into your own hands and regain control of your finances. So please read on to discover the measures you can take to stop wage garnishment and how a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. can help determine whether bankruptcy is viable.
What can I do to stop wage garnishment?
You may have every intention and desire to pay back your due creditors. However, paying them back through your garnished wages may not be a method sustainable for you. So instead of standing idly by and allowing this to happen, you must take the initiative to set up a better-suited repayment plan.
Namely, you may contact your due creditor directly and negotiate a personal repayment plan. This may be more easily accomplished if your original creditor sold your debt to a debt collection agency, rather than if your original creditor already won a wage garnishment court order against you. Nonetheless, it is something worth requesting. Or, you may sooner request a debt settlement plan. But with this, you must understand that you may be expected to settle this debt via a lump-sum payment.
Or, if you are in a position where you believe your due creditor unfairly ordered the garnishment of your wages, you may challenge it in court. Here, you may argue that your creditor and employer did not follow the right procedures to initiate wage garnishment. Or, your creditor requested an unreasonable amount of funds to be garnished from each paycheck.
How can bankruptcy stop wage garnishment?
If your financial worries extend far beyond missing a portion of your wages each paycheck, a better long-term solution may be to file for bankruptcy. This is because, immediately upon submitting your bankruptcy petition, the New York State bankruptcy court may order an automatic stay. Specifically, an automatic stay bars your due creditors from pursuing any collection activities, such as wage garnishment.
In the meantime, for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may relieve yourself from some debts that free you up for paying back your other due creditors. Or, for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may schedule a repayment plan that is at a pace better fitted for your given financial situation. All the while, you may receive the full extent of wages you have worked so hard to earn.
We strongly encourage you to retain the services of a competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney. You may do so by scheduling a free initial consultation with The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. at your earliest convenience.
