Can I Get Back Garnished Wages After Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Having a wage garnishment is pretty stressful. Most people who have wage garnishments can’t afford to meet their daily living expenses and having money coming out of their check every week could mean not being able to afford your next rent, credit card, mortgage or car payment. If you are behind on your credit cards and creditors are taking money from your paycheck you are probably wondering how can stop them from taking your hard earned money. A wage garnishment usually begins after a creditor has a judgment against you. If you have not shown up to Court or you lost your Court case then a creditor can obtain a judgment which means you owe them money. Once the creditor has a judgment they can force your employer to give a portion of your check to pay your debts. Filing for bankruptcy can stop your wage garnishment.
The “automatic stay” is initiated as soon as you file for bankruptcy. The automatic stay prohibitis creditors from going after you for debts that you owe. This means that creditors who have a judgment and a wage garnishment against you, can no longer take the money out of your paycheck once your bankruptcy petition is filed. Further, as long as you complete your bankruptcy, your judgment/garnishment will be erased and you will not have to pay the creditor back even after the bankruptcy is over. There are some debts that will still be garnished even after your bankruptcy is filed, these debts include: alimony and child support payments. The automatic stay does have some limitations if you have filed bankruptcy before. For example, if you have filed for bankruptcy within one year of your current filing then the automatic stay will only last for 30 days. If you want to extend the stay, then you will need to ask the Court for permission. If you have filed bankruptcy twice within the last two years the automatic stay will not kick in at all. Note, the only way to actually have your garnishment stopped completely is if you get a dischrge. If your case gets dismissed or you don’t receive a discharge then your wage garnishment will continue after the bankruptcy filing.
It is important that all of your creditors are notified on your bankruptcy petition. A wage garnishment will only stop once your creditor is notified. That is why it is extremely important to make sure that all of your creditors addresses are listed correctly on your petition. In addition, to listing the creditors, you should also notify their attorney’s if they have one. Once your bankruptcy is filed, you should contact your creditorand provide them with your case number. Hiring a bankruptcy lawyer to help stop your garnishment is probably the easiest way to help you. A Bankruptcy lawyer will contact the creditor’s attorney’s and provide them with the information they need to stop your wage garinsihment.
If your creditor garnished your wages after your bankruptcy has been filed, it may be because they have not received notice of your filing. If this is the case, you will need to call them immediately to tell them that you have filed for bankruptcy. If they are still garnishing your wages after the bankruptcy case is filed and have been notified this can be a violtation of the automatic stay. Hiring a bankruptcy lawyer to hold your creditor liable for violating the automatic stay can be beneficial. A bankruptcy lawyer will be able to fight them in Court to impose fines and penalties against them. A lawyer may also be able to help you get back your garnished wages if they were taken 90 days before the bankruptcy was filed.
The Trustee can also go after your creditor’s for the money they took within 90 days. The Trustee is the bankruptcy attorney that you will meet with when you go to Court. The Bankruptcy Trustee oversees your case and ensures that everything in your bankruptcy filing is true and correct. If the Trustee wants to, they will file a preference action against the creditor who garnished your wages. A preference action allows the bankruptcy trustee or the debtor to get back the money that was garnished. To get back the money from the creditor, you and the Trustee will need to show the Court that the payments were taken involuntarily, the money would have been exempt and there was at least $600 or more taken. A bankruptcy lawyer will be able to assist you to get back any garnished wages.
Call our New York and New Jersey Bankruptcy lawyers to help you stop your wage garnishment. Our lawyers have stopped many wage garnishments from going into effect and have helped hundreds of people get a fresh start by eliminating their debts. We are always available to answer any questions you have. Karra L. Kingston Esq is a top rated New York and New Jersey bankruptcy lawyer.