Best way to stop a wage garnishment in Michigan?
If you have had a wage garnishment, or have been garnished, contact Detroit Lawyers immediately! A bankruptcy filing will stop the wage garnishment. Plus, potentially recover the money that was taken!
A creditor will use garnishments as a means to satisfy a debt. First, the creditor must sue you in court and get a judgment. Second, the creditor has to wait 21 days until it can get a Writ of Garnishment. Third, it will send the Writ to the entity (Garnishee) which has your assets. A variety of assets can be garnished, but the most common are paychecks, bank and credit union accounts and state tax refunds.
Michigan Wage Garnishment
Your paycheck can be garnished up to 25% of your income after taxes and social security in Michigan. Now, we don’t know many people who can afford to lose 25% of their income and still continue to afford their daily expenses.
Even scarier is a bank account or credit union garnishment. If a creditor finds your bank or credit union account, often through a process known as skip tracing, they can garnish the entire account in order to satisfy the judgment. So, if the judgment is for $10,000 and you have $5,000 in your bank account, the entire $5,000 will be taken!
Creditors will also garnish your WHOLE STATE TAX REFUND in order to satisfy a debt. Michigan families rely on refunds to make down payments on cars, homes or even to help make ends meet throughout the year. It is vital to stop the garnishment so you can receive your entire state tax refund!
Is any of my money exempt from garnishment without filing bankruptcy?
Some assets are exempt from garnishment in Michigan. However, you should talk to a bankruptcy attorney about your specific situation. Even if a certain type of income is exempt, chances are the creditor will be able to find something that isn’t.
Social Security income is exempt from garnishment. In addition, other income like supplemental security, welfare, and veteran payments are also exempt. You have the burden of proof to prove the exemption to the Court. Furthermore, exempt funds that are co-mingled with non-exempt funds will not be exempt from garnishment.
Garnishing income tax refunds in Michigan
I hate to see our clients relying on a tax refund only to have it garnished. State agencies and individual creditors can garnish your state tax refund in Michigan. A creditor is able to garnish your tax refund if it files a writ of garnishment with the court. You’ll receive a copy of the garnishee disclosure from the State of Michigan. You must object to the garnishment within 14 days by filing a proper objection.
You won’t receive notice that the state is keeping your refund until after you file you income tax return. As a result, the timing of a bankruptcy filing is extremely important when it comes to garnishments.
In addition, other important issues to discuss with a Michigan bankruptcy lawyer are the order of payments (if there are multiple creditors trying to garnish your refund) and spouses who are also being garnished because you filed a joint tax return.
Bottom Line
Time is of the essence when dealing with garnishments. Garnishments of your paycheck, bank account, or income tax refund make life unsustainable. We can stop garnishments and even recover some of the money that was already taken by creditors. The longer you wait, however, the less you’ll be able to get back.
Our office will stop garnishments. Plus, Clients can potentially recover all of the money taken. Once a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case is filed and the automatic stay goes into place creditors are prohibited from continuing garnishment collections. If you have been garnished over $600.00 within the last 90 days, we may even be able to recover the garnished funds! Call our office today at 248.237.7979 to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION and get your GARNISHMENT STOPPED!