Blogs

The best way to stop a garnishment is almost always through the filing of a bankruptcy. In both Washington and Oregon, we put an end to garnishments nearly every day and often get money back for our clients as well. For those few Washington debtors who for whatever reason cannot file bankruptcy(many Washington consumers believe that they are in this category but few actually are), it is important to know the rules of the garnishment game.
In Washington a combination of state and federal laws protect certain kinds  of property and income from garnishment. There are, as always,  a few exceptions to these exemptions for child support, federal student loans, and some other debts to the federal government so if the debt falls into one of these areas, please contact our offices immediately. However, under normal circumstances, the following types of income or money cannot be garnished or levied.

•  Social Security disability and retirement benefits (unless you owe child support or, federal student loans, or a federal tax debt)
• SSI benefits
• TANF benefits (state welfare)
• ABD benefits (state disability)
• Unemployment Compensation (unless you owe child support)
• VA benefits (with some exceptions for money you owe the government or for support)
• Student Loans
• Child Support you receive
• $500 in your Bank Account and $1000 Additional Cash, for a total exemption of up to $1500

Try not to put any cash into a bank account if you can avoid it. Even though $500 in a bank account is exempt from garnishment if you have less than $1,500 in cash, the bank may freeze your account anyway if the creditor claims you actually have more than $1,500 total. This can result in bounced checks, overdraft fees, and other bank charges.bMost pensions are exempt from garnishment even after they are sent to you. But some are not. Do not have pension checks direct deposited into a bank account, if possible. See if the pension fund can mail pension checks directly to your home.

• Wages – If you make less than the following amounts, none of your wages can be garnished:$253.75 weekly
  • $507.50 every 2 weeks
  • $550.00 twice a month
  • $1099.33 monthly
  • Even if you take home more than these amounts, you may still keep 75% of your TAKE HOME PAY. (Example: You earn $400 per week after taxes. This is more than $253.75. Multiply your take home pay by 75% ($400 x .75 = $300). The law allows you to keep $300. A creditor can take $100 of that check.)

If possible, do not get your pay check by direct deposit. Wages are exempt from garnishment at the time your employer pays you. If you cash your check and put the money in a bank account, or if your employer pays you by direct deposit, a creditor may claim that the funds are no longer exempt as wages. Never give creditors permission to withdraw money from your bank account. If you absolutely must keep money in a bank account, avoid keeping it in an account where you also owe the bank money.
 
 
 
The original post is titled Avoiding Garnishment Outside of Bankruptcy in Washington , and it came from Oregon Bankruptcy Lawyer | Portland, Salem, and Vancouver, Wa .

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy - Chapter 7 Bankruptcy - Miami Personal Bankruptcy Lawyer Jordan E. Bublick has over 25 years of experience in filing Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. His office is centrally located in Miami at 1221 Brickell Avenue, 9th Fl., Miami and may be reached at (305) 891-4055.  www.bublicklaw.com

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 8-1 decision in Ransom. today. Justice Kagan wrote for the majority and Justice Scalia wrote a dissenting opinion. It was Justice Kagan's first opinion.

The majority opinion held that an over-median income debtor in chapter 13 is not entitled to the "ownership costs" deduction (approx. $471.00) in the computation of the means test (used to determine "disposable income") for a vehicle that is not encumbered by debt. The debtor is though is entitled to a deduction for the "operating costs" deduction (approx. $388.00) for an unencumbered vehicle.Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami Personal Bankruptcy Lawyer with over 25 years of experience in filing chapter 13 and chapter 7 bankruptcies. Miami Personal Bankruptcy Lawyer Jordan E. Bublick has filed over 8,000 chapter 13 and chapter 7 cases.

While studies have shown that over the past year alone, bankruptcy filings have shown a slight decrease, this doesn’t necessarily mean the economy is improving.  A number of consumers have cut back on spending and borrowing since the housing market collapse in 2007.  But, as people try to stick to reasonable budget, dealing with other [...]

Were you aware that credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) have assigned you a score which reflects the likelihood that you will pay a delinquent bill?  This collection score 1 helps bill collectors decide where to focus their collection efforts.Credit reporting agencies also offer “bankruptcy risk scores” which offer credit grantors a numerical rating score to determine whether a customer or potential customer is more or less likely to file bankruptcy.Financial data that may be buried in credit applications or public records can now be analyzed instantly by computer and reduced to a simple score 2These collection systems mean that if you owe money to credit card companies or other lenders and you have a good jobs, savings or checking accounts or other indicia of ability to pay you will receive more aggressive and harassing phone calls and are more likely to be sued faster.If you do get served with a collection lawsuit, do not ignore it.  In Georgia, you have only 30 days to file an answer before the lawsuit goes into default putting your paycheck and your assets at risk.Bankruptcy is obviously one response but you may have grounds to challenge the lawsuit or negotiate favorable payment terms.  If Ginsberg Law Offices can be of assistance to you in the event of a debt crisis, please call us at 770-393-4985 or click here to email us.

1. The collection score product is described in more detail here, in a brochure published by the Fair Isaac Company, the organization that also provides credit scoring algorithms for the credit reporting agencies. ↩
2. My professional colleague, Long Island, New York bankruptcy lawyer Craig Robins writes more about bill collection and bankruptcy in his excellent Long Island Bankruptcyblog.  Thanks to Craig for his excellent post about automated bill collection systems, which you can read here. ↩

The post Why Some People Face More Bill Collection Harassment than Others appeared first on theBKBlog.