Process for a Creditor to Get Wages Garnished

Wage garnishment can be a hassle. It can be embarrassing and make it difficult to handle other financial obligations, including basic needs such as housing and food. Preventing wage garnishment by creditors may be possible if you act early. When you feel like you do not have options, sometimes all you need is the help of another person's perspective.

How Creditors Garnish Wages

In most states, the court must be involved in order for a creditor to garnish your wages. It is usually used as a last resort by creditors and bill collectors that have been unable to collect money owed to them by other means.

The normal procedure for wage garnishment is for a creditor to file court papers (whatever is required by law in your jurisdiction) seeking wage garnishment because of a debt that you owe. You are then put on notice that legal action has commenced. If you can afford to make good on your debt, this is a good time to pay, or talk to your creditor about what your options are prior to the court proceedings.

Usually, there is a time allocation for wage garnishment, requiring that debtors be given a certain amount of notice prior to their wages actually being garnished. If the court issues an order in response to the petition of the creditor, your employer will be supplied with the order and wage garnishment will commence upon the date designated by the order.

You have some options. You can dispute the debt if you have good reason to do so. You can try to handle your creditor outside of court by offering a payment and a repayment plan. You can discuss your situation with your creditor and see what other options they may make available. Sometimes bankruptcy or debt consolidation relieves people of debts that could otherwise be collected via wage garnishment. Filing for bankruptcy will generally halt any creditor legal action until the bankruptcy proceedings have been completed. An attorney can advise you of other potential ways to prevent wage garnishment based on the facts of your case.

Getting Legal Advice

If you are concerned about wage garnishment by creditors, you can talk about your concerns with experienced legal counsel. An attorney can help you understand the law and how it impacts your situation. You can talk to an attorney in privacy and trust that your conversation will be kept confidential.

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