If you received a summons and complaint for unpaid credit card, personal loan, repossession or medical bills, you must act quickly or your creditor will have your wage garnished by obtaining a judgment from the court. However, debts like child support, alimony, taxes, and student loan do not require the creditor to go through the court process and get a court judgment in order to obtain a wage garnishment order.
California law limits the amount that a creditor can garnish your wages to repay your debts. For most debtors, creditors cannot garnish more than 25% of their net wages unless your income is extremely low, which California law protects even more. Once your employer will receive a wage garnishment order, your employer has 10 days to start withholding your wages and send it to your creditor.
However, the amount garnished for child support, alimony, taxes, student loans, and other debts owed to government can be different.
You can prevent or stop most wage garnishment by filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can eliminate credit card, personal loan, repossession or medical bills. Debts that are not eliminated or discharged through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can continue wage garnishment even if you Chapter 7 Bankruptcy has been successfully completed. Examples of nondischargeable debts are child support, alimony, recent taxes and certain taxes, students, fines, restitution, damages caused by DUI, damages sustained from fraudulent or intentional acts. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy cannot stop wage garnishment for current monthly child support or alimony payment. However, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can provide relief by putting backed child support and alimony and nondischargeable tax liability through a payment plan for up to 60 months, which might be lower than your current wage garnishment. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy cannot alter or reduce the currently monthly child support or alimony payment, which you must obtain a court order in a family law court.
Although nondischargeable debts cannot be eliminated, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can eliminate or reduce most debts so that you can afford to pay off the nondischargeable debts.
For more information on how bankruptcy can stop wage garnishment call Sacramento Bankruptcy Attorney Muoi Chea for a consultation.