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Wage Garnishment

How quickly can our bankruptcy attorneys stop a wage garnishment that is taking money from your paycheck?

Answer: Immediately!

headacheImagine what it would be like to never worry about a having your hard earned wages garnished and taken away ever again. It may seem like fiction, but this is the power or bankruptcy. If you qualify, all lawsuits , judgments, and garnishments are instantly wiped away. The underlying debts are completely discharged and wiped away forever. Let that sink in for a bit. It's all gone. You are free again. No more debt. All of your qualifying debts are complete wiped out or "discharged"

  • Are you facing a lawsuit that feels completely overwhelming?
  • Are you in danger of having a default judgement entered against you?
  • Has your employer already been served Writ of Garnishment?
  • Worse, are your wages being garnished?

If so, pursuing a Washington State bankruptcy may very well be your best option in terms of wiping out all lawsuits, judgments, and wage garnishments.

A good bankruptcy attorney knows how to stop a wage garnishment action dead in its tracks. The instant your bankruptcy case or "petition" is filed, all garnishment action against your pay MUST STOP! It's a very powerful remedy that is available to anyone who can qualify for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection.

Bankruptcy kills wage garnishments dead!

And we mean ... DEAD.

Filing for bankruptcy here in Washington State stops all wage garnishment actions against you and your family immediately! Our lawyers are experienced wage garnishment lawyers who have stopped hundreds of garnishment actions dead in their tracks. Bankruptcy is one of the most powerful financial tools on the planet. And, if you are able to qualify, it is especially useful in preventing future wages from being garnished and ripped out of your next paycheck.

In fact, bankruptcy is probably the only way to effectively fight back against a judgment that has been entered against you and has resulted in your wages being garnished directly out of your paycheck. Our wage garnishment attorneys are skilled and effective advocates for those who are facing the incredibly scary prospect of having as much as 25% of their take-home pay garnished directly out of their paycheck.

For many of our "wage garnishment" bankruptcy clients, the prospect of losing twenty-five percent of their net income is nothing short of horrifying. Our debt relief attorneys get it. You are already struggling just to survive financially every month. You are already having difficulty just paying for the basic necessities of food and housing. It's hard to find the money just to keep the heat on and the electric bill paid.

These financial struggles are no doubt at least part of why the garnishment got entered in the first place. Losing 25% of your take home pay means facing the very real possibility of being evicted or having your vehicle repossessed. Suddenly, its difficult to even pay your rent or your mortgagehis is part of why we have developed a "wage garnishment action plan" that enables us to move incredibly quickly for qualifying clients and put an immediate stop to them losing desperately needed earnings every pay period.

If you are facing an imminent wage garnishment, we urge you to contact our bankruptcy offices right away for a free, no obligation initial consultation. We will answer your questions and then set up a mutually convenient time to get your bankruptcy petition moving forward as quickly as possible. As soon as your bankruptcy petition is filed, the garnishment is halted. Our bankruptcy legal services offices are conveniently located in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Tacoma, and Olympia. Our wage garnishment attorneys serve bankruptcy and debt relief clients throughout the Greater Puget Sound Region, including all of King County, all of Pierce County, all of Snohomish County, and all of Thurston County.

Call now to get the help and the information that you need in order to make a truly informed decision about your bankruptcy legal rights and your debt relief options. If you qualify for bankruptcy relief, you can immediately and dramatically improve your monthly cash flow, even before you actually file.

If bankruptcy is your best option, we typically advise our clients to simply stop paying all of their non-secured creditors immediately while we put together a strategy to put a halt to their wage garnishment. This two-pronged approach often frees up enough monthly cash flow for our client to at least get back up on their feet and start meeting their basic monthly obligations again.

What about wages that have already been garnished?

Is there any way to get this money back? Yes!

It is often possible to recover wages that have already been garnished going back as much as 60 days. Any wages or bank accounts that have been garnished after a bankruptcy case is filed must also be returned. Our attorneys will be happy to explain how this process works. But, we are frequently able to recover wages that have been garnished over the last couple of months. It's important, however, to act quickly.

Except in rare circumstances, a creditor cannot garnish wages or bank accounts without a judgment. Creditors can freeze a bank account temporarily without a court order, but if a bankruptcy is filed before they actually receive a judgment, the funds are released back to the debtor.

To get a judgment, the creditor has to first file a lawsuit. You may be served with a lawsuit before it is actually filed though. If you receive a summons and complaint, you are being sued. The summons and complaint can not be mailed to you. They must be personally delivered to you. You have 20 days to respond. It's very important to take this notice seriously. You do not want to forfeit your legal rights, which will result in a default judgment. This default judgment can then be used to almost immediately try and garnish your wages.

Indeed, if you simply bury your head in the sand and do not respond, the creditor can then file the case and obtain a default judgment on the same day, just by showing proof that they personally served you. If you do respond, they have to file a specific motion to get a judgment at the very least, and in many cases, the case could be set for trial. This will buy you important time, often months, to decide if filing for bankruptcy is your best move.

Once a creditor has a judgment, they still have to go through additional procedures to garnish wages. They have to serve an interrogatory on you and your employer to determine how much they can garnish and then get a writ of garnishment from the court. It usually takes around couple weeks to get the writ of garnishment. Once this process starts, however, it usually proceeds fairly quickly. So, you want to get with one of our bankruptcy and wage garnishment lawyers as soon as you are served with a lawsuit. That way, we can help you get ahead of the curve.

It’s best to file a response if you receive a law suit. But, if you are being garnished already, you can stop the garnishment immediately by filing bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy, however, will not stop child support garnishments. Our Washington State bankruptcy and wage garnishment lawyers are available to meet with you at any of our bankruptcy legal services offices in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Tacoma, and Olympia.

We're here to fight for your legal rights under the Bankruptcy Code. We want you to know that have very important legal right and options when it comes to lawsuits, judgments, and wage garnishments. Our wage garnishment lawyers serve clients in King County, Snohomish County, Pierce County, and Thurston County, as well as throughout the Greater Puget Sound Region. Get the help, the answers, and the straight truth that you deserve. Let us help you determine if you can qualify for bankruptcy protection. Call now for a free, no obligation consultation.

Stop struggling and hoping for a financial miracle. Get out of debt now. Stop your pending wage garnishment immediately. We understand how difficult it is to take those first steps. Our bankruptcy and debt relief lawyers want you to understand and know that the law is on your side. You just have to reach out for that first free, no obligation initial consultation. Our lawyers are here to help.

You have struggle enough. Wipe out your debts. Keep your property!

Call now for helpful information and real answers.

How much can my employers garnish?

lady and billsIn Washington, creditors can garnish 25% of your take-home pay. Even if you have a higher income and will need to file a Chapter 13 repayment plan, that is much better than being garnished. In most situations, a garnishment means things have really spun out of control.

Only one creditor can garnish at a time. One garnishment can cause defaults on other loans and these creditors can then sue in the future. You could be facing a long line of creditors all waiting their turn to garnish, with interest, late fees, and attorneys fees piling up as they wait. Our bankruptcy and wage garnishment attorneys have seen this scenario unfold many times. It's not pretty. Once the first domino falls, many more are often poised to quickly tumble too.

If you think a garnishment is a possibility, then you should seriously consider getting a fresh start in bankruptcy. It is better to explore that option before 25% of your take home pay is being taken from you and you are facing a real emergency and true financial crisis. If you are in that situation, filing for bankruptcy can be a great help. Despite what your creditors want you to believe, bankruptcy is one of the most incredibly financial tools available. How often are you actually able to hit the "reset" button in life? If you can qualify, this is what bankruptcy will enable you to do.

Garnishments stop immediately after a bankruptcy is filed. If a check is garnished by mistake after you file your case, it must be returned to you. And, as detailed above, you may even be able to retrieve any money garnished from your pay checks in the 60 days leading up to filing your case. Ideally, however, you talk with a wage garnishment lawyer about your legal rights as soon as you get notice of a lawsuit being filed. Filing for bankruptcy while you are being garnished is not the ideal situation. It is better to plan your bankruptcy well in advance.

Don't wait until you are drowning

Get ahead of the tsunami by talking with one of our Washington State bankruptcy attorneys today!

The need to file bankruptcy is not something that comes out of nowhere. You face months of nasty phone calls and attempts to deal with the situation in other ways. Because bankruptcy involves coming up with attorneys fees, collecting necessary documents, and taking the mandatory credit counseling class, it is better not to be in a crisis while getting your case together. Our garnishment attorneys are here to help you plan for the worst while hoping for the best.

Garnishment starts with a creditor’s law suit. The creditor must first obtain a judgment for money due before asking a judge for a writ of garnishment. If you proactively reach out to us, we can help you avoid any garnishment action entirely.

If at all possible, you don't want to wait until a writ of garnishment has been ordered before taking action. This writ orders a third party who is holding your money, like an employer or bank, to turn the money over to pay the debt. A creditor must start this case by personally serving you with a law suit. Again, they cannot mail the lawsuit to you.

They have to hire a process server to deliver it to you personally. If you ignore the law suit, the creditor can get a default judgment against you in 14 days. It is a good idea to answer the law suit to give yourself more time. The answer just requires the creditor to prove their case and gives you a day in court. Because you are not a lawyer, the answer does not have to be very formal.

There are situations where a creditor gets a judgment but the debtor has never received the law suit. Perhaps the process server served the wrong person or some other mistake has occurred. If that is the case, you can try to vacate the judgment but many times filing bankruptcy is cheaper and easier, especially if you really do owe the debt.

Garnishment can really make debts spin out of control. Every time the creditor has to do work on the case, they add attorney’s fees. They can take 25% of your take home pay, which may barely keep up with the attorney’s fees and interest. It may be impossible to pay rent, make car payments, and afford other priorities when you are being garnished. Bankruptcy will stop all that no matter what stage the law suit or garnishment is in. Again, it is best to plan for this situation well in advance. But, if things are starting to spin out of control, you need to get with a good wage garnishment and bankruptcy attorney as quickly as possible.

Call now to speak with one of our Washington garnishment lawyers today!

How can our bankruptcy lawyers protect your paycheck?

man worriedWere you recently served with a lawsuit, or worse, a judgment threatening to garnish your wages? Has your paycheck already been hit by one or more garnishments? If you qualify, our bankruptcy attorneys can stop your wage garnishment dead in its tracks. As noted above, the filing of a bankruptcy stops garnishments immediately.

If you have already been hit, we need to act quickly. Fortunately, the Federal and Washington State bankruptcy laws provide very specific relief to those who qualify for protection. If your wages are being garnished and you are actively seeking helpful information about your legal rights under the Bankruptcy Code, you are probably in a position to qualify for help. In our experience, most people facing a wage garnishment action are barely hanging on financially. This is usually the first clue that they can qualify for bankruptcy protection here in Washington State.

Most of our wage garnishment clients are struggling just to get by every month. This is often how then ended up in a position of having their wages garnished. Fortunately, help is available. If you have been fighting an uphill battle every month just to maintain your housing, put gas in your car, and put food on the table, the chances are good that you qualify for bankruptcy protection.

Our bankruptcy lawyers are very skilled at dealing with lawsuits, judgments, and wage garnishment actions. We can also quickly help you determine if you can qualify for bankruptcy relief, often during your free initial consultation over the phone. Our debt relief attorneys have developed a series of focused questions that can quickly help you identify your options. Based on your income, your household, your debts, your assets, and your monthly expenses, we can usually determine whether or not filing for bankruptcy is an option during your first consultation.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
Erin Lane is the best attorney I have met by far! I came to her during a very difficult time in my life. I was needing to file a bankruptcy. She was very kind, non-intimidating, and well-understood. She actually came across like a good friend. To this day I still remember and appreciate her (no-stressing approach) I deem Erin qualified for any position having to do with her knowledge in these types of legal matters! Keith D Wilson