How to Stop Wage Garnishment
July 19th, 2009, Written By: Kerri Randall
So you let one or a few of your debts get out of hand, and you ignored your creditor’s collection calls. Now you’ve been taken to court to settle the debt, and the court has resolved to garnish your wages. Once wage garnishment has been ruled, there is little that you can do to stop it. But if you do decide to try one of your few options, you need to act quickly.
Your first, and probably best, option is to try to reach an agreement with the creditor, preferably before the court proceeding. The creditor cannot garnish your wages themselves without a ruling, but you will have to commit to the terms of the agreement; court can still be an option at any point.
You can file bankruptcy. This will severely damage your credit score, but it will immediately prevent your creditor from collecting the debt that you owe. With this option, you’re really weighing the costs and choosing the lesser of two evils. While your creditor might be stopped in their tracks, you’ll have a tough time being approved for loans and other lines of credit in the future.
If the wage garnishment has already taken effect, and it’s too late to stop it, your last option is to file a “Claim of Exemption.” This means that the amount being garnished will be adjusted and lessened. You only qualify for this, though, if you can prove that the amount of money you’re left with is not sufficient enough to cover basic life necessities. When you fill out the form to submit to the court, you’ll need thorough proof of your income and a detailed list of your necessary expenses.
One important thing to note is that you’ll want solid documentation from your creditor when your debt is finally paid off. This can help you ensure that the account is removed from your credit report when it should be. You can also use it to supplement any future loan or credit applications to help explain the status of your credit score and why it’s so low, as well as show that you’ve worked on turning it around.
Categories: Handling Collections
