Stopping Wage Garnishment in Hawaii

One of the most effective ways to stop wage garnishment in Hawaii is to do your best to prevent it from happening in the first place. This is not a facetious suggestion that you avoid all types of debt, but rather important advice that communicating with your creditors often and early and establishing by your actions that you intend to repay your debt as soon as possible can go a long way to preventing wage garnishment.

If you can work out a debt settlement arrangement with your creditor and stick with the payment plan you are likely to be able to avoid wage garnishment.

When your wages are already being garnished it can be difficult to stop. In Hawaii, $5.00 of the first $100.00 that you earn each month after taxes can be garnished, then $10.00 of the next $100.00, and then 20% of your after tax earnings that exceed $200.00 each month. If you have unpaid federal government taxes or child support or alimony the garnishment amount can be an even greater percentage.

Stop Wage Garnishment

If your wages are already being garnished, you may be able to file an Exemption Claim to have the amount reduced so that you still have enough of your paycheck left to meet your daily needs.

• You will need to provide financial evidence of your monthly bills to support this request.

Filing bankruptcy is another option that can stop wage garnishment, depending on why your wages are being garnished. If the garnishment is the result of unpaid credit card bills this may be a good option for you.

• When you file bankruptcy, either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, an automatic stay goes into effect which stops creditor collection activities. Wage garnishment is a collection activity that would stop during the automatic stay.

If you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and the debt that caused your wage garnishment is discharged, then you no longer owe that money and your wages cannot be garnished. If you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy you will enter into a court approved repayment plan that will last three to five years and may leave you with more disposable income to live on than the wage garnishment did and you have the opportunity to be free of the debt if you make all the required payments at the end of the the repayment plan.

Get Legal Help

An attorney can help you realize that there are solutions available to help free you from overwhelming, burdensome debt. Contact a lawyer today to find out how you can have your wage garnishment in Hawaii reduced or stopped.