As a bankruptcy attorney I frequently see individuals, who have had judgments entered against them in court, and who are having their wages garnished to pay the judgments. A judgement creditor can garnish up to 15% of a person’s wages in the state of Illinois.
Bankruptcy will stop the garnishment of wages, since the bankruptcy creates an automatic stay that makes it illegal for creditors to collect debts. However, the garnishment will only stop as of the date when the bankruptcy is filed. Unfortunately, a creditor is allowed to keep any wage garnishments that occur before the bankruptcy. That is why the time to consider a bankruptcy should be when the lawsuit is filed or at least when the judgment is entered. If an individual waits to start when they receive the notice that their wages are being garnished it is often difficult to complete the bankruptcy petition before the first wage deduction is taken. Also if an individual is already having his wages garnished, he may have a harder time finding the money to pay for his bankruptcy.
No comments:
Post a Comment