Avoiding Wage Garnishment
Can bankruptcy stop wage garnishment? Bankruptcy is a way to eliminate debt, but can it stop wage garnishment? Wage garnishment is when creditors take part of your paycheck to pay off the debts you owe. In the most common scenario, a creditor will send your employer a court order to withhold money from your wages. This could be at least part of your salary or your total salary. The law protects your right to a certain amount of money that belongs to you—your disposable income. If a creditor has already started garnishing your wages, you may be able to stop it by filing for bankruptcy. At a minimum, bankruptcy will stop new garnishments from creditors who haven't filed for the right to collect from you. When you're facing wage garnishment, it's easy to think bankruptcy is your only option. However, there are many instances where bankruptcy will continue as wage garnishment. When you fall behind on your debts, creditors may be able to garnish your wages, but that doesn't ...