Judgement questions

Hi..

first of all, if you don't have your check direct deposited, you will avoid losing money to your bank, all you'll have to worry about is the 25% garnishment.

If you hadn't opened the door, the judgement still would've gone through, because they would've taped the notice to your door, which is perfectly legal..

Also, a lot of times it's cheaper to just bite it and take the garnishment because usually 25% of your disposable wages ends up being cheaper than any arrangements the creditor would agree to.

Wage garnishment is usually 25% in most states. The garnishment is not effected at the bank. It is effected with your employer. Your employer receives a Notice of Garnishment and they have two weeks to report back to the creditor regarding your wages. When you employer is served, they are required to notify you of the garnishment. If your employer likes you and doesn't want to participate in the garnishment they can forestall providing the information for a couple of more weeks, but eventually, they are required to forward the information back to the creditor. This is all a part of the judgment process. The employer also has to notify payroll or the company that processes your paycheck that the 25% has to be deducted from your check and paid to the creditor. I believe that the deduction is made after taxes, not before, but don't hold me to that.

It doesn't matter whether you get served personally or not. If you don't accept service, it only prolongs the process. After several attempts at service, the process server sends the complaint back to the creditor. The creditor can then post notice by publication. They usually choose to do this with some sort of paper local to your area that is business oriented instead of your regular newspaper. They do this because it costs less. It is also a strategy used to get a default judgment because it's very unlikely you will not see the notice in this type of paper when most people subscribe to the regular news delivered to their door every day. So yes, the legal process can go through.

Depending on how confident you feel about your negotiation skills, I would have opted to negotiate myself. For instance, if you had participated in the court process, you would have been allowed to mediate the matter. Most small claims judges prefer to have these things mediated and they usually have anywhere from three to six professional mediators at the hearing who offer their services for free. If you don't feel confident in your negotiation skills, you could have hired a paralegal to do the same thing the attorney was hired to do at a substantially lower rate. California is one of the few states that allow paralegals to practice a limited amount of law and this would be one situation a paralegal can handle.

As for what I would do, I have strong nerves and an unsually high amount of niave faith. So, I would hold out for the negotiation at 50%, knowing that it the creditor may never go below 70%. However, keep in mind that if the creditor already has the judgment against you, you now have interest accrual working against you, so time is working against you.

Hope this information helps you in your decision-making.

small correction here..Sorry, Deb, I'm an HR rep..

Garnishment for consumer debts is 25% in ALL states except Pa, the carolinas, and Texas, where garnishments are not allowed. Also, the payroll dept has 28 day, not 14, to report back. And yes, the garnishment is after taxes, as well as all voluntary deductions such as 401k and profit sharing.

Thanks for the help Fins. I had a general understanding and I appreciate your dotting my i's and crossing the t's for me.

Is that how benefits are done in your state? My 401k and benefits are deducted before wages are taxed.

Deb,

I think I wrote something confusing..

No, bennys are before taxes, I think that's federal, I mean that garnishments are done after taxes and anything voluntary...401k and profit sharing aren't bennys.

Gotcha. That's how I understood it too.

Correct me if im wrong, but if the creditor can and does choose wage garnishment as a way to get judgment paid then they would have no need to freeze a bank account right?.I was under the understanding that seizure of bank accounts and writs of execution were usually only done if no garnishment could take place and that was the only way to get the money from you.Sorry if I'm wrong on this.

It is typically much easier for a creditor to get a garnishment than it is to freeze and acccount. In general, that is what most creditors do.

Yep, unless you're in Texas, The Carolinas, or Pa..Then they can't garnish, so they go after accounts and assets.

I did see an employee once who owed like a gazillion dollars in child support...He was on the verge of jail, total deadbeat dad. He ended up on probation, garnished, AND had accounts levvied. That's really extreme, though, and I can't imagine it would happen in a garnishment-friendly state unless it's a huge federal debt.

I agree. From what I've seen businesses freeze accounts of other businesses but rarely in a simple creditor judgment.

Wow, finsfan. I admire your job. Being an HR Manager is not easy.

Deb, you can HAVE my job. I hate it with a passion.

Unfortunately I thought I was really wise, and got my bachelors in Philosophy. This is about all I can do without a masters.

I can relate. I was complimenting you BECAUSE I wouldn't want your job. However, if you would like my job, I would love to give it away. You have to have a thick hide to deal with attorneys and their egos, not to mention a great deal of restraint when you simply want to throttle them for their insensitivity and lack of consideration. Only benefit is that I learn the law in order to be educated about how to protect myself.
______________________
"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way." ~ Christopher Morley

Maybe we can trade for a day?

That would be fun!

we would probably both be ready to go back to our own jobs at the end of the day!

Ummmm ... you do remember that I work in Utah don't you?