Avoiding Wage Garnishment

If you are being threatened with wage garnishment, you will want to learn the legalities involving the process. The better prepared you are, the faster you can deal with the process.

Just realize that laws can be different from state to state. There are certain states that may allow garnishment for debts for credit cards, while other will not. Make sure that you are clear on what you are going to be facing during a court date.

There are a few things that are allowed to be taken from your paycheck through garnishment. Some states do not allow past due taxes to the government and child support payments to be garnished.

If your creditor proceeds with filing a judgment against you, it may or may not be garnished. It always depends on the original debt, and the laws of the state you reside in.

You can never lose your entire paycheck. You are protected by specific laws that limit the amount of your check that can be garnished. This is different among the states, so better find out what percentage applies to you.

The one thing that many people don't know is that you paycheck might be protected, but your bank accounts are not. Creditors can zap every penny from checking and savings accounts. This means that instead of direct deposit, you better request a physical check so you can cash it and have money to live on. This will limit the amount of money that can be taken from you without prior consent.

How to avoid garnishment?

If you have been assigned child support you are not going to get out of having to pay it. There is no valid reason to not pay child support and there is no way around it. However, if you want to avoid your creditors coming after you, you can attempt to make payment arrangements with them.

Before garnishing wages, creditors must obtain a judgment through the court system. Before proceeding with a judgment, they are required to send a letter to attempt to collect the debt.

If the letter has demanded payment in full, it is often cheaper for a lender to accept a payment plan and it will be cheaper for you as well.

Keeping your debt under control is a serious matter if you want to avoid bankruptcy. Better talk to a professional from the start and stop garnishment before you get too deep into trouble!

Jenny Miles writes about money problems such as debt relief and bankruptcy. Learn more about your options for how to stop wage garnishment on her site.