Garnishment Advice

Not to sound nasty but it is his garnishment so he needs to be the one to get a second job to pay this debt off quickly so you can continue to life comfortablly and raise your son. Tighten your budget and rework your debts and try to make things work. Your going to need to find ways to bring in more income until it's payed off. At least it's close to tax time.
God be with you in your time of need.

By law your husbands employer must take the garnishment out. Somewhere down the road, you must have received a letter from a collection agency. They normally give you 30 days, and after that, it is garnishment time. I work in payroll, and we always get a certified letter, and the same goes to the employee, they too should receive some type of certified letter. I too have had the difficulty of being challenged with garnishments. At tax time, you can still pay for this in full and then he should present his employer with paid in full receipt. Then they should stop the garnishment of his paycheck.

I used to work in HR and handled garnishments. Now this was over 6 years ago and in a different state, but this what I know: The employer doesn't have to notify you of a garnishment, but as a courtesy, your payroll or HR dept should provide you a copy of the garnishment order. Just have your husband ask his HR or payroll manager. They absolutely should provide him a copy. If they can't or won't show him a copy of the order, then they should not be garnishing his wages. (If they can't prove a legal garnishment, then it is illegal for them to deduct his paycheck, get it)? Once you get a copy of the order, (usually from the state or county) then contact the appropirate authority and explain your situation. Usually if it is a hardship, they will lower or drop the amount. They also can't deduct more than 1/2 of your check. (I think that is state law, so check to see what IL is). I can't tell how many people I used to send a notice of garnishment to, and then turned around and recieved a notice to stop the garnishment. I hope this helps.

I'm very sorry this has happened to you and I can only imagine how hard it must be with the worry and all. This is a situation I'd like you to face head on, so to speak. Many people face what you are facing, but that doesn't make it any easier for you. Immediately request your free credit report if you haven't done so this year. If you do it before the 1st, you can request it again in 2008, because you are entitled to one free report annually. Go to annualcreditreport.com. You'll see the company that the judgement is for, but most importantly, you'll see any other creditors that may be a problem for you. If you are getting a refund each year, it's a very good idea to get that money each month. How do you do that? Go to your payroll or personnel department and request a form W-4. This is the form you fill out when you start your job. It tells your employer how much to take out of your pay for taxes. Your employer sends this money to the IRS and they hold it all year with no interest. If you request the first Worksheet, you will see in the upper left hand corner that you can change your W-4 ANY time you want as many times as you want. Most people fill it out once with 0 or 1 allowance and then never change it again. If you read ever so carefully, with a fine tooth comb, every single line on the worksheet, you will find that you probably qualify for more allowances then you are taking. With one child, you may qualify for 5 or 6. By changing your W-4, you will increase the size of each paycheck, because your employer will take out less. You will have more cash to live on. In the meantime, please take a good look at your credit report, because you want to be aware if other creditors are behind. I wish you the best and if you want to contact me via this site, please do.

Rosalind

Ask your husband to check with the payroll department to seeif they have recieved the garnishment paperwork. If they have not contact the creditor and see if they will make payment arrangements. Most companies will especially if you can make a payment at the time you are trying to make arrangements. If they will not make arrangements still make small payments because even if they garnish his check it will be for a smaller amount.

Hi T.! I've been there! My checks have been garnished before and I wasn't notified either. Unfortunately the only thing you can do (that I'm aware of) is let them keep garnishing until you get the money to pay it in full or if you have other bills along with that one maybe consider bankruptcy. Otherwise they are just going to continue to take the money. Bill collectors don't care about what the loss in wages does to you or your family they just care about getting their money! I haven't read any other responses you may have received I hope they're more helpful than mine I'm just telling you what my experiences have been. :0)

Please don't be embarrassed. You are not the only one in a bad position, and asking for advice can help. As far as I know, you are supposed to be notified BEFORE they start garnishing. We don't have judgements, but we do have payment arrangements with pretty much everyone we own, so some weeks it is almost too hard to find money to spend on groceries. You will get through it. Everyone has their problems.

I am sorry I have no advice, but when I read it my heart went out to you. My family is getting by by digging our nails into the ground so we dont fall over the edge as well. I just weanted to say you are not alone and I understand ( this weeks paycheck $1000 this weeks bills $2500) consider yourself hugged by a mom who understands!

If there was a court order your employer is required to take the garnishment. They are also required to notify you. There are certain requirements that must be met as they can not overall take a certain percentage out of your check which I think is 25% of the check. That is all garnishments combined. Go to this website it will give you more information. http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/garnishment-law.html

Dave Ramsey has a radio show and website dedicated to helping people with money issues. He helps people on all ends of the money spectrum. He's on 95.9 from noon to 3 and on the web at daveramsey.com I liked his teachings so much I bought 6 copies of his book to give a Christmas gifts! It is definitely worth checking out!

Hi T.,
I used to work in collections for 8 years and whenever you receive a notice from a collection agency ALWAYS call and set up payment arrangements. If it is medical they HAVE to accept what you can send- even if it is only $5.00 a month. If it is a bad check the agency is not obligated to take any payment arrangements. This is the way it works with garnishments.
1- you are notified in writing and have 30 days to dispute or request documentation from the original creditor.
2-after 30 days you should normally receive a phone call and a 2nd attempt gets sent to you.
3- if no attempt is made by you to set up payment arrangements or to pay in full then the account could get sent to an attorney
4- the attorney will contact you giving you an additional 30 days to pay
5- if no contact by you or no attempt to pay then you a motion will be filed in court
6- you are summoned to court and can state your case in front of a judge and 99% of the time can still make payment arrangements
7- if no attempt by you - then employment is verified and a garnishment placed on wages
I just wanted to let you know of the steps because if something like this happens to you again (you receive a collection letter) call and make arrangements. Debt collectors are just doing their job and believe it or not more than half of them have probably been in the same boat as you and can understand- if they don't ask to speak with a supervisor.
If you have any other questions or need advice please feel free to contact me.

Good Luck!
R.