Will my pay still be garnished if I file for bankruptcy?

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Question:

Will my pay still be garnished if I file for bankruptcy?

Answer:

It will be stopped once you file. Whether your pay will still be garnished after your bankruptcy is completed depends on the circumstances of your individual case.  You should inform all of your creditors that you are filing bankruptcy and give them contact information for your bankruptcy attorney. 

You should also inform any courts where you have been sued that you are filing bankruptcy.  Pay garnishments are made as part of a court proceeding, unless you have signed some kind of voluntary garnishment with a creditor.  Once you inform the creditors and courts (Do it in writing, so you can prove that they have received notice!), the “automatic stay” of bankruptcy means that collection efforts against you will stop, at least temporarily. 

Your creditors will then have to either make claims in the bankruptcy court case, or they will have to obtain permission from the bankruptcy court, called "relief from the automatic stay," in order to go on collecting against you. 

Unsecured creditors will not be likely to obtain relief from the stay.  On the other hand, secured creditors, like a mortgage holder, may obtain relief from the stay and go forward with collection efforts against you. 

A creditor whose debt has been discharged in your bankruptcy cannot make any further collection efforts against you after the bankruptcy.  Your bankruptcy attorney should be able to tell you whether a particular party has the right, or might obtain the right, to pursue further collection against you after you file bankruptcy.

Talk to a Bankruptcy Lawyer before you file to work out the best way to stop the garnishment and save your money.

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