Work Injury Lawyer
If you are suffering from having your wages garnished, then you must act quick! When big amounts of money are being taken from your paycheck, you will eventually need help.
What is Wage Garnishment?
Usually wage garnishment is notified through a notice that you are being sued. Once it is settled and the judgement has been settled it gets sent to a creditors. The creditors job is to collect the debt and this usually means wage garnishment. Your employer then receives a court order specifying the amount that must be deducted to pay for your debt. The creditor may continue to deduct this amount from your paycheck until the debt is paid. Federal law provides some regulations to wage garnishments:
- May not take 25% of disposable income
- May not take more than the amount that your income exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.
Your disposable income then becomes whatever the amount is after the required deductions from your paycheck. Your deduction includes things like state taxes, social security, unemployment and insurance taxes. Your deductions can not come out of social security benefits, veterans or disability. If for any reason your employer refuses or fires you, they are violating the law. They can not fire you under these circumstances and if so a lawyer should initiate legal proceedings.
When Should you Contact an Attorney?
There are several reasons why you should not deal with this n your own. Here are some examples of when you should seek an attorney:
- You don’t owe the debt. If you have already paid the debt by the time your garnishment have been files, you might have a hard time proving you do not own the debt. An attorney can assist you with gathering the evidence and make sure that the paperwork is completed and filed.
- Creditor s taking too much. As mentioned earlier, the creditor is only allowed to take 25% of your wage. If the creditor is exceeding that amount, you may want to enlist the help of an attorney.
- You want to set up payment arrangements. Sometimes creditors are willing to establish a payment plan. In most cases, this arrangement can usually be done by the client but in many cases you should consult with an attorney.
- You are going to get fired. If you are in danger of getting fired because of your situation, then you are definitely in need of a attorney. It is illegal to lose your employment as a result of wage garnishment.
- You want to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will stop all wage garnishments. YOu should consult an attorney to see if that us the best avenue for you.
There are many reasons why should get a lawyer but the truth is that when you are dealing with complex sensitive matter, a lawyer consultation goes a long way.
When you contact an attorney for workers compensation WI residents rely on they will discuss your financial situation, using their extensive experience dealing with various cases. If you decide that bankruptcy is the right route they can help you with that too.
Thank you to our friends and contributors at Hickey & Turim, SC for their insight into wage garnishment and workers comp cases.
