Wages about to be garnished....which should I do first?

Judgment accounts cannot be included in debt management/consolidation plans.

The only way you are going to stop a garnishment at this point is to either pay or settle the account in full now. It is not likely the payments that you are offering will stop them since your garnishment would be higher. You should have offered them a paynment plan a long time ago.

it will cost you $1000-1500 to file bankrutpcy unless you file it pro se.

Well I couldnt offer them anything in the recent past because A: I didnt have a job during most of that time and B: when I did try to set up payment plans they declined due to what I was offering not being a satisfactory amount.


Correct me if im wrong...but Pro Se means I do the bankruptcy on my own..correct? Im not educated enough in that field to do it on my own. So based off what I typed my only option is finding a lawyer and filing for bankruptcy? Is there any place that will give u a small loan if you have bad credit?

Im sorry if im being confusing...Im just trying to weigh my options.

A few more questions......I get direct deposit and i have 1 checking account. Should I cancel both of those out and just deal with cash and money orders?

Also......is there a place on this site or some other site that gives a list of bankruptcy attorneys that have high/"trusted" ratings? would they be listed on the BBB site?

With a recent judgment and charge offs and bad credit, no one is going to lend to you. At least not a legitimate lender. Do you have any family that could lend to you?

A bankruptcy attorney is going to cost you an average of $1500 plus filing fees. That has to be paid before filing. So if they are going to garnish you, by the time you hit the actual filing, you loan might be half way paid off. Unless you can come up with a the cash, bankrutpcy will probably be a waste of time. You could let them garnish you to pay it back...pick up a part time job to supplement.

No...i dont have family to help me financially. I dont know the percentage.....from what I read in Illinois it can be from15% or 25%.
Since I make about $640 bi weekly...how much am i looking ot pay them every other week?

Also...would it be wise to close my bank account? I pay most of my bills via check or debtit card. Since im basically poor and dont own much,,,,can my bank account be levied for a credit debt thats is under 6k?


thanks for your help.

You can put your money into a prepaid debit card. If you are in an area with a lot of chase banks the chase slate is a good idea as it's 4.95 a month with no fees for ATM withdrawls (the other ones charge massive fees for using an ATM along with the ATM owner fee of 3 dollars or so) otherwise go with a netspend or something like that.

I have a netspend card already. Would it be safe to direct deposit my payday checks to that? Or should I jusst deal with the paper checks to be on the safe side. Also......which percentage is it....15% or 25% for illinois?

Thxs

netspend is pretty safe. You can certainly set up your direct deposit to it... you're going to lose a lot of money in the long run paying check cashing fees if you take paper checks if you plan to close your bank account.

Considering its only a little over 5k....I guess ill just let them garnish me for the next 6 month until tax return time. Then ill just pay off the remaining balance with my refund check.


BTW...what about my "percentage" question? The lesser of 15% (IL) or the lesser of 25% (fed)?

Thxss

It's 15% of your disposable wages, which means gross pay minus federal, state, social security, medicare and local taxes (and minus child support if applicable).

Sheldon - Look into garnishment exemption levels in your state.

If your earnings meet the exemption, were a garnishment sent to your employer, you would have an opportunity to file and show your exempt. This would prevent wages being attached.

Once you finish school and land a better paying job look at your options for resolving the debt.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a once every 8 year option and follows you around in a worse way than a judgment. If you are garnish-able, how much? Probably not the full 25%. If you do end up garnished (at whatever amount) and that less of take home pay causes you to not be able to make it month to month, you can file the basic BK docs yourself, which would stop the garnishment.

Your bank account can be located and funds there are at risk of being levied. Living on cash basis does not sound like it will be overly complicated for you.

Hello Michael....

Based off how much I make, my total debt (which isnt much), and what follows bankruptcies (fees, credit report "strikes", etc )....I think I'll avoid that route.

Based off what im reading .....even though all those in debt get screwed over....Illinois actually has laws that work more in the favor of the person in debt. Depending on what type of debt it is, the total debt, etc etc.


This is what I got from googling stufff...

Your employer cannot deduct all of your wages. A certain amount of your wages is exempt, or protected by law. You are allowed to keep take-home pay (your pay after taxes are deducted) of at least:

• $371.25 weekly
  
• $742.50 bi-weekly (every other week)
  
• $804.37 semi-monthly (twice a month)
  
• $1608.75 monthly.
  

BTW.....the total amount due on the notice is different than the total amount thats actually due.

Per the notice: 5109.53
Per Midland Funding: 5145.25


Regardless...I was planning on settling with them in about 5 months. My goal is to just keep the little cash that I have after paying bills in my pocket until then,

Based on the information you provided and your research results, yes, you appear to meet the garnishment exemption guidelines.

As far as writs of garnishment:

You would typically have to notice the court and may be required to file paperwork and show up for a hearing. No one knows if you have additional income sources beside the job. Your employer would not know that and is not in the position to raise your exemption qualifications for you. You have to. You have to formalize all of it with the court.

I would encourage you to seek feedback from an IL attorney on any of this. You may qualify for low income legal aid legal assistance based on your income.

Sounds like you will knock this down shortly and be able to move on with your life. Good.

Is that $638 your net pay? Are there other deductions (401K, health insurance, dental, life, AD&D, etc.) or is that just gross pay minus taxes?