When the bills are piling up, the phone is ringing incessantly from creditors and bill collectors, and you’ve received notice that your wages will be garnished, it can be easy to become overwhelmed. It can be even more stressful to decide which bills to pay while your paycheck is taken against your will.
The Arizona wage garnishment attorneys at Stone Rose Law are here to help protect your finances. Contact us online or at 480-498-8998 for a free consultation on how you can avoid wage garnishments on your paycheck.
Generally, most creditors under Arizona law may garnish up to 25% of your net disposable income. This can be different for certain priority debts or unsecured debts.
However, a court may reduce that amount to 15%.
No more than 25% of your income can be garnished for most financial obligations, regardless of the number of creditors you owe. If you face multiple wage garnishments, there are two potential paths:
It is easier to keep creditors from taking wage garnishments than it is to recover money that was taken. If you have received notice of intent to garnish your wages, you should immediately contact an experienced Arizona bankruptcy attorney to prevent them from garnishing your income.
Remember, the longer you wait to reach out for legal advice, the more money will be deducted and potentially become unrecoverable. The sooner you seek legal assistance. The greater your chances of protecting your paycheck.
If you fall behind on student loan payments, the entities collecting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education can garnish your wages without a court order.
This process, known as administrative garnishment, allows a federal agency to order a non-federal employer to withhold part of an employee’s disposable income to pay off a delinquent non-tax debt owed to the government agency.
The federal government may garnish up to 15% of your disposable income to repay your loan.
Failing to pay private student loans may also result in wage garnishment. The difference between federal and private student loans is that lenders can only garnish wages with a court order for private student loans. The lenders must first sue you and obtain a court judgment in their favor before they are allowed to garnish your wages.
A private lender may garnish as much as 25% of your disposable income to repay your student loans based on where you live and your annual income.
Unpaid credit card debt may also lead to wage garnishment. Typically, a credit card company will first attempt to work with you to find a way for you to repay your credit card debts. However, if you have stopped your credit card payments, the company may seek a court order to garnish your wages until your debts have been settled.
Note that you may still be required to pay the extreme interest rate.
The amount garnished depends on how much you earn. For private debts such as credit cards, wage garnishment is limited to whichever is lower: either 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or by the amount that your weekly disposable income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage.
Having an unpaid doctor’s bill or two isn’t uncommon. Unfortunately, failing to make proper arrangements with your medical provider can put you at risk of wage garnishment from medical bill debt collectors.
Medical providers, even non-profit hospitals, can sue their patients for unpaid medical bills. If the medical provider wins the case and obtains a court order, they can take money directly from your paycheck towards your outstanding debt.
Like debt with a credit card company, federal law sets the limit for wage garnishment at 25% of your disposable income, or the amount you earn 30 times the federal minimum wage – whichever is lower.
The good news is that several cities, counties, and states have taken action over the last few years to protect patients from incurring medical debt. You should discuss your case with a wage garnishment lawyer to learn more about your options.
Wage garnishments are just one of the paths an individual must take to manage debt. They can be used to pay multiple types of debt, including child support or tax obligations.
If you are dealing with outstanding debts and feel your wages are in danger of being garnished, act quickly. You may still be able to look into other alternatives to prevent such drastic measures from being taken.
If you have been given a wage garnishment demand letter but have yet to have income taken, a bankruptcy lawyer can help you reach out to the creditor and try to work something out. This could involve negotiating a smaller monthly payment or one lump sum.
Once you receive a demand letter, bring it to an experienced bankruptcy attorney with wage garnishment experience like the ones at Stone Rose Law.
We will carefully review the information provided to ensure that the information listed is accurate, that the debts identified are legitimate, and that the amounts specified still need to be paid. We can then file a written objection to the wage garnishment if you find any errors in the information provided.
Filing for bankruptcy in Arizona is another common way to avoid or stop wage garnishment. Upon filing, the automatic stay will stop all pending and existing garnishments. Depending on the type of debt, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may discharge the entire judgment. Our experienced attorneys will assess the debt and your financial circumstances to determine if this is the best bankruptcy for you.
The experienced Arizona bankruptcy lawyers at Stone Rose Law may be able to help you stop them from taking your wages immediately by filing for bankruptcy protection. We may also be able to identify other strategies to help you avoid or recover wage garnishments.
If a creditor has sued or obtained a judgment against you or you have received a notice of wage assignment or garnishment, time is of the essence. Seek out legal advice from our experienced Wage garnishment lawyers today.
We can frequently stop a wage assignment before any of our clients’ income has been taken. Contact us today online or at 480-741-2900 to learn more.
