Wage Garnishments and Judgement Liens in Bankruptcy

If you have gotten behind in your payments and had your wages garnished, or a debtor is threatening you with legal action to attach your wages to repay a debt, you may want to consider filing bankruptcy. As soon as you submit your bankruptcy paperwork with the court, creditors are prohibited from garnishing your wages. All actions to collect on your debt must be legally stopped.

Government Agencies

Bankruptcy can even stop government agencies from collecting public benefits or Social Security overpayments. If these payments were based on fraud, however, the government does have the right to recover those payments.

Legal judgments against you can also be stopped with the automatic stay. If the creditor’s judgment does not create a lien against your property, that lien is considered unsecured and can be legally eliminated in bankruptcy.

Remove the Lien

If there is a lien on your exempt property, you can ask the bankruptcy judge to remove the lien and then it becomes unsecured debt which may be eliminated in the bankruptcy process.

If you already have your wages garnished for something other than child support, alimony, or legal restitution, the garnishment will stop and give you time to either have the debt eliminated or figure out how to incorporate it into a repayment plan.

If you are worried your wages are about to be garnished, or you have a judgment lien against your home, contact a Dallas bankruptcy attorney to find out how you can have this process stopped and get a fresh financial start.