Keep Your Income With Help From Our Cabot Wage Garnishment Attorneys
Having debt is difficult enough. You don’t need your wages garnished on top of that, putting even more strain on your finances. So, find the relief you need with wage garnishment help in Cabot, Arkansas, from WH Law.
With us, you’ll get the guidance you need to move through your debt troubles with intention. We know times are tough and are only getting tougher. That’s why we give our clients full support through their issues, and fight like hell to protect their rights and earn them a chance to move forward toward a better future, financial or not.
So, if you need a team of legal experts for debt and wage garnishment law, contact WH Law today.
Wage Garnishment Explained
Wage garnishment is a legal action where a court orders your employer or bank to take a portion of your income so it can be used to pay a debt you owe to a creditor.
This usually happens after the creditor has failed to collect on a debt several times, turning to the courts as their final option for repayment.
Common Reasons for Wage Garnishment
In general, lenders, credit providers, and the government can all have your wages garnished. Certain creditors will first need to get a court order, while others, like the IRS, don’t need one. Here are some of the different reasons people often get their wages garnished:
- Unpaid federal or state income taxes
- Federal student loans
- Child support
- Alimony
For residents in Jonesboro to Cabot, Arkansas, wage garnishment laws can be made easy to understand and used to resolve possible lawsuits from creditors with our expert help. Just reach out to WH Law and one of our seasoned Cabot wage garnishment attorneys will help you properly respond.
The Amount Your Paycheck Can Be Garnished
According to the Consumer Credit Protection Act, a creditor can only garnish your wages under two different rules:
- They can garnish around 25% of your weekly earnings
- The amount you earn weekly exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage.
Under federal law, the court must go with whichever rule produces the lowest amount. For example, let’s say you make $800 a week after taxes.
For the first rule, 25% of your income is $200. For the second rule, subtracting your weekly income from 30 times the minimum wage ($217.50) makes the difference $582.50.
In this case, the court would choose the 25% rule since it leads to a lower garnishment than the 30 times minimum wage rule.
There is one important exemption in Arkansas wage garnishment law:
Laborers and mechanics can get 60 days of their income exempt if those wages and their personal property don’t exceed $200 (if they’re single) or $500 (if they are married or head of household). Plus, the first $25.00 per week of their net wages is completely exempt.
To learn more about wage garnishment exemptions, Cabot Arkansas, residents can rely on WH Law. Our team will help clarify what possible exemptions you can get to save as much of your money as possible.
Child Support
In the case of unpaid child or spousal support, up to 50% to 55% of your disposable income after state and federal taxes can be garnished.
The amount your wages are garnished depends on how much you are behind on giving court-ordered support payments.
Additionally, if you don’t have a second family to take care of, that amount can be increased to 60% or 65%.
The Wage Garnishment Process
Knowing what happens before you receive a court-ordered wage garnishment can give you an idea of how to avoid getting one placed on your income. Here’s a quick breakdown of how a wage garnishment is processed.
- To be considered for wage garnishment, a creditor must first sue you. They must send a notification of their summons and formal complaint against you.
- Once you have been served these documents, you typically have 30 days to respond to the court. It’s important that you do respond because if you don’t, the court will serve a default judgment, which means they will side with the creditor and essentially approve a wage garnishment order against you. This step is crucial as it gives you a chance to appeal your creditor’s claims and potentially reduce or avoid wage garnishment, especially with a team of experts in wage garnishment attorneys at your side.
- If you go to trial, the judge will hear you and your creditor individually plead your cases and make a judgment.
- If the creditor receives a successful court judgement against you, that means they can request a “writ of garnishment.” This is the court order that forces your bank or employers to withhold a part of your paycheck to send to your creditor until your debts are paid off (or until you’re fired or have filed for bankruptcy).
Whenever you receive a summons for a wage garnishment lawsuit from a creditor, consider talking to a lawyer specializing in these types of cases.
To get an expert wage garnishment lawyer, Cabot, Arkansas, can rely on our team at WH Law, which has helped numerous clients with their cases, ensuring their bank account isn’t emptied or their livelihood crushed.
How WH Law Can Help Stop Wage Garnishment
At WH Law, our goal is to provide expert legal aid to people who are having a tough time with their debts. Our team will guide you through the garnishment process and give you a clear idea of what you can do to return to a state of financial security and stability. Here are some of the major ways WH Law can and will help:
Challenging Unlawful Garnishment & Termination
There are cases when a creditor is simply wrong for seeking an order to garnish your wages. WH Law can gather and provide evidence if you respond to the creditor’s initial summons and go to trial with them. We can help you challenge your debt by proving that the creditor didn’t follow proper legal procedures or that your debt is invalid due to identity theft.
We can also file a lawsuit to dispute a job termination due to you receiving a wage garnishment. According to federal law, firing someone for this reason is illegal. By challenging this termination, we’ll ensure you stay employed while avoiding garnishments on your income.
Negotiating with Creditors
As we mentioned before, most creditors use wage garnishment orders as a last resort for collecting on an unpaid debt. Our Cabot wage garnishment attorneys may negotiate with creditors to avoid a lawsuit. Or, they may reduce the amount you owe or determine a payment plan that’s more manageable for you and the creditor.
Helping You Explore Financial Relief Options
Finally, we’ll also help you explore alternative debt relief options. For example, you can file for bankruptcy to delay or stop wage garnishment orders.
A Cabot bankruptcy attorney from WH Law will give you the information you need to determine which type of bankruptcy is more beneficial for you to file. Here are the two main forms of bankruptcy to consider:
- Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – The quickest way to relieve your debts. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy involves clearing your unsecured debts by selling off certain assets to pay back your creditors. This is beneficial since many assets are exempt from being sold off and because it takes a few months to complete.
- Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – The more organized and methodical way to remove your debts. Chapter 13 bankruptcy involves settling with the court and your creditors by putting together a payment plan that allows you to pay off your debts over between three and five years.
With WH Law’s Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 lawyers in Cabot, AR, you’ll know which one is best for your financial situation. While filing for bankruptcy may mean a big hit in the short term, it gives you a chance to reach a state of financial stability in the long term, which means a brighter future for you and your loved ones.
Call WH Law for a quick chat about your case. We’re always ready to talk.
