Stop Wage Garnishment
Bankruptcy Law
Stop Garnishments With Bankruptcy
BEFORE A CREDITOR CAN GARNISH your wages or your bank accounts in Ohio, they (except for the Federal Government) must file and win a lawsuit. Once the lawsuit is filed, the creditor must serve you notice.
This notice can be delivered to you via certified mail or through the use of a process server. Once you are served, you have 28 days to file a response, legally known as an answer. If you file an answer, the case can be litigated.
If you fail to file the answer, the creditor can seek a default judgment. If granted, the creditor is granted a judgment against you because you will be deemed to have forfeited the right to defend yourself.
Once the creditor obtains this judgment, the money due can be collected through wage garnishment, or bank account garnishment, or both, until the balance is collected in full.
Wage Garnishments And Bankruptcy
A CREDITOR HAS THE RIGHT TO GARNISH YOUR WAGES once they have obtained a judgment against you. The creditor can garnish 25% of your disposable wages each pay. If you do nothing, the 25% wage garnishment can continue until the debt is paid in full.
Once the creditor secures the garnishment, your options to stop the garnishment are extremely limited. The easiest method to stop the garnishment is to file for bankruptcy protection.
The date that your bankruptcy is filed all collection activity must stop including wage garnishments. The creditor is generally allowed to retain all wage garnishments obtained prior to the date that your bankruptcy was filed, but any funds garnished after your bankruptcy is filed, while under bankruptcy protection, must be immediately returned.
Bank Account Garnishments And Bankruptcy
A CREDITOR HAS THE RIGHT TO GARNISH YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS if a judgment is obtained against you. There are some limitations on what funds can be garnished. If you do not dispute the garnishment the courts will generally allow the creditor to garnish all funds above $450 in your account.
The easiest method to prevent or stop the garnishment is to file for bankruptcy protection. Immediately upon filing for bankruptcy all collection activity must stop including bank account garnishments.
In some cases our skilled attorneys are able to recover some of the funds garnished immediately before filing bankruptcy. Under all circumstances, any funds garnished after a bankruptcy is filed, while under the bankruptcy protection, must be returned.
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