It’s already stressful to try to reduce debt, pay your bills and handle daily expenses all at the same time. And for some folks, it already feels impossible to do the first two duties. That’s why creditors often take advantage of people in these vulnerable financial situations.
One tactic creditors love to implement is wage garnishment – a practice where the court requires an employer to withhold a certain amount from each paycheck and send it directly to the person or institution to whom you owe money until the debt is paid off.
It’s incredibly problematic for most workers since they already live paycheck to paycheck and rely on every penny to afford food, gasoline and keeping their roof over their heads. It begs the question if there is any way to stop wage garnishment before it happens?
Stop it in its tracks
Before you can stop wage garnishment, it’s crucial to know how it is enacted. If you have any unpaid civil court judgments against you, you are at risk of a wage garnishment or having your bank account seized. All that happens is the court needs to file an order in order to implement a garnishment on your paychecks. However, the creditor has to give you a 15 days notice before garnishments take action.
The two ways to stop wage garnishment are to either work with your creditor to develop a different payment strategy or to file for bankruptcy. Both options are equally viable depending on your current finances. You just need to analyze what option gives the most benefits to you and your family.
